President Donald Trump is seeking to appeal a decision reinstating a gag order that was put in place to prevent him from discussing members of the judge’s staff during his civil fraud trial, according to court documents.
The order, which prohibits Trump from publicly commenting about members of Judge Arthur Engoron’s staff, was temporarily lifted on Nov. 16 after the court raised concerns about free speech, but a New York Appeals court reinstated the gag order on Nov. 30. The motion was filed with the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, the state’s highest court, according to court documents.
The gag order was initially put in place on Oct. 3 after Trump posted a photo of principal law clerk Allison Greenfield next to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling Greenfield the “girlfriend” of Schumer on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump’s attorneys claimed that Engoron was using the gag order as an “unfettered license” to publicly punish Trump for comments he made outside of the court, which they claimed was a violation of free speech. The appeals court, however, noted that “upon reading and filing the papers with respect to the motion, and due deliberation having been had thereon,” the gag order would be reinstated.
Trump has been fined twice for violating the terms of the order; the first being $5,000 for not removing the social media post nearly three weeks after the order was given. The former president was also fined another $10,000 in October for calling Engoron “very partisan” to reporters.
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