On the second day of his civil fraud trial in New York, former President Donald Trump brazenly targeted Judge Arthur Engoron’s law clerk on social media. On his Truth Social account, which has millions of followers, Trump posted the woman’s name and her photo and insinuated that she has a personal relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. It's Schumer, Trump said in his post, who's “running this case against me.” Trump then demanded that his New York lawsuit be dismissed. Trump removed the post after about two hours, but the damage had been done.
On the second day of his civil fraud trial in New York, former President Donald Trump brazenly targeted Judge Arthur Engoron’s law clerk on social media.
This is part of a pattern. In just the first two days of the civil fraud trial, Trump has repeatedly attacked and smeared Engoron, New York Attorney General Letitia James, the judge’s law clerk and the entire judicial system. Engoron responded with a limited gag order Tuesday that prohibits Trump from commenting about any members of his staff. But a broader gag order must be imposed to protect all involved in the case — as well as the judicial system itself.
It’s way past time to end Trump's special treatment. No other American engaging in the same conduct would be afforded such legal leeway.
While it’s unrelated to the New York civil fraud case, special counsel Jack Smith’s recent motion seeking a limited gag order against Trump in his federal election subversion case is instructive. As prosecutors argue there, “The defendant should not be permitted to continue to try this case in the court of public opinion rather than in the court of law, and thereby undermine the fairness and integrity of this proceeding.”
That's exactly what’s happening in the New York civil fraud case, however. Trump is intentionally undermining the integrity of the this case by publicly attacking Engoron and James, who brought the $250 million case against Trump and his company.
While Trump’s smear campaigns against the judge and James aren’t new, his conduct during the first two days of the trial was even more egregious. Trump, unlike any other defendant I’ve ever seen, stood in the courthouse and addressed the media with the obvious goal of delegitimizing the proceedings. He called that particular case a “sham” and a “scam” and smeared Engoron as a “rogue judge” who “should be disbarred” and “should be out of office.”
On his social media platform Tuesday morning, Trump said Engoron should be punished for his rulings, calling on him to be “sanctioned” and criminally prosecuted for his “intentional and criminal interference with the Presidential Election of 2024.”
Regarding James, Trump’s comments were even more vile and dangerous. Trump called her a “racist” “who is corrupt” as he claimed that the entire investigation, which began in 2019, was politically motivated. Back in the courthouse Tuesday, he again publicly attacked James, accusing her of being a “fraud” and telling the lie that the evidence her office is presenting in court is “fraudulent.”
But more alarming were Trump’s remarks Monday that sounded like he was targeting James for retribution: “You ought to go after this attorney general.” Trump was talking to the media then, but it was an alarming comment to make given that it came after a week of his having embraced increasingly violent rhetoric.
He'd suggested that Gen. Mark Milley, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is deserving of execution; mocked Paul Pelosi (the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.), the victim of a home invasion and attack; and called for the summary executions of shoplifters.
Regarding James, Trump’s comments were even more vile and dangerous.
We know that when Trump targets people by name, there’s a subset of his supporters who will threaten them. In fact, special counsel Smith raised that very point in his pending motion for a gag order, writing, “The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets.”
In a particularly jarring passage, Smith’s team wrote about Trump: “The defendant continues these attacks on individuals precisely because he knows that in doing so, he is able to roil the public and marshal and prompt his supporters.”
This, in part, is why, according to The New York Times, the top prosecutors in each of the four criminal cases against Trump now require round-the-clock protection. This is something you would expect to read about in a case with a terrorist leader or a Mafia boss, but instead, it involves the leading 2024 GOP presidential candidate.
Last week Smith’s team filed an additional brief in support of its proposed gag order highlighting Trump’s recent attack on potential trial witnesses. The brief pointed out that Trump had suggested that Milley deserved execution for having spoken to his Chinese counterparts during the period after the 2020 election, when Trump was wrongly trying to stay in power. Smith’s team wrote, “No other criminal defendant would be permitted to issue public statements insinuating that a known witness in his case should be executed.” He added, “This defendant should not be, either.”
But so far, the judges presiding over Trump’s cases haven't muzzled him.
It’s past time for Trump to be treated like any other defendant.
Barring the imposition of a gag order, what we have seen Trump do these first two days of the New York fraud trial must be viewed as examples of what we can expect him to do on a daily basis in his upcoming criminal cases. He will smear judges, prosecutors, witnesses and the evidence. And in those cases, there is the additional concern that Trump could wrongly influence or even intimidate jurors, issues Smith raises in his gag order motion.
It’s past time for Trump to be treated like any other defendant. The judges presiding over his cases should enter narrowly tailored gag orders that protect the sanctity of the process — as well as the safety of those involved — until the cases are over. Trump can still claim he’s innocent.
But he can’t be allowed to continue smearing judges and their staffers, slandering prosecutors or inciting violence. It’s time all the judges overseeing his cases make the expression “no one is above the law” a reality.