Trump’s Legal Team Claims He “Did Not Directly Threaten” the Judge or Clerk

William FurneyNov 29, 2023

Minute Read

Donald Trump did not threaten the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial in New York, nor his chief clerk — or anyone else involved in the case, the former president’s lawyers have claimed.

‘Politically Motivated’ Trial

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They said comments made by Trump on his Truth Social network about various people in the proceedings was merely a reaction to what Trump has called a “politically motivated witch hunt.”

New York Trial

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Trump, his adult sons Donald Jr. and Eric, as well as several executives at his Trump Organization real estate business are on trial in Manhattan for fraud. The judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, has already ruled that fraud was committed, by overvaluing Trump properties by about $2 billion to secure favorable loans and insurance.

Penalties and Gag Order

Judge Engoron has canceled several Trump Organization licenses to do business in New York and imposed a gag order on Trump for attacking prosecutors, Engoron’s senior clerk and the judge himself, both on social media and in comments to reporters outside the courtroom. Engoron found that Trump broke the gag order, twice, and hit him with fines totalling $15,000.

Election-Interference Case

Now, in a separate case that Trump has been charged with, an indictment that alleges he tried to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, prosecutors want to use the New York trial to show that Trump should also be under gag order in their case.

Motion to Request Gag Order

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has been investigating the election-interference case against Trump, filed a motion requesting a gag order that references that measure being imposed in the New York fraud trial because of threats Trump made to court and other officials.

‘No Basis’ for Trump Gag Order

Responding to Smith’s motion, Trump’s legal team said the former president had done nothing to warrant being placed under gag order in the fraud proceedings. Trump himself has said it violates his right to free speech as guaranteed under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

‘No Evidence’

Trump’s lawyers said: “To date, the prosecution has never submitted any evidence of alleged ‘threats’ or ‘harassment’ to any prosecutor, court staff, or potential witness in this case. This falls short of the ‘solidity of evidence’ required to justify a prior restraint.”

Court Clerk with ‘Agenda’

Trump’s legal team pointed out that comments Trump made on social media about senior clerk Allison Greenfield were only to show that she appeared to have an “agenda.”

‘Government Hostility’

Trump’s lawyers told the court that “Mr. Trump did not directly threaten Ms. Greenfield and instead describes speech by unidentified, independent third parties. This confirms that the prosecution seeks to impose ‘a speech burden based on audience reactions,’ which ‘is simply government hostility and intervention in a different guise.’”

‘Not Equal Before the Law’

Many people online hit out at the latest developments in Trump’s legal battles. One, writing on X, formerly Twitter, said: “No ordinary person in the US facing the kinds of criminal charges Trump is facing would be permitted to threaten witnesses, prosecutors and Judges. It has made folks really skeptical that we’re in fact all equal before the law.”

‘Trump Game Show, Movie’

Another X user said Trump “thinks his life is a perpetual game show.” And someone else offered: “Here we go. Trump wants us to respond to his behavior like watching a movie. His movie. Sit back and enjoy; Mr. Trump always wins in the end.”

Other Trump Legal Woes

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Apart from the New York case, Trump is also fighting off charges that he mishandled classified government documents and allegedly paid hush money to cover up an affair. He is battling a total of 91 criminal charges brought under four indictments, and could be jailed for decades if found guilty.

White House Ambitions

But as Trump,77, defends himself in courts across the US, he is also campaigning to return to the White House. He is the leading candidate for the Republican Party nomination for the 2024 presidential election in primaries to be held in January, with a large lead of about 50 points ahead of GOP rivals that include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Concerns About Trump

While national polling shows Trump is the frontrunner for the GOP 2024 nomination, there is growing concern, say political analysts, over his increasingly hostile and “authoritarian” language. Recent comments branding political enemies “vermin” that he would “root out” if he returns to power and lauding strongmen leaders around the world have done little to assuage those worries. Some also say he is too old to run again and should retire.