Judge in Donald Trump's fraud trial expands his gag order, revealing that the court's been 'inundated' with threats

Judge Arthur Engoron widened an existing gag order to bar Trump's lawyers from commenting on confidential communications between the judge and his staff.

• The judge overseeing Trump's fraud trial imposed a partial gag order on Trump's lawyers.
• Judge Arthur Engoron said they made "on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks" about his law clerk.
• "The First Amendment right of defendants and their attorneys to comment on my staff is far and away outweighed by the need to protect them from threats and physical harm," Engoron wrote.

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's fraud trial in New York expanded an existing gag order to bar Trump's lawyers from commenting on confidential communications between the judge and his staff.

Judge Arthur Engoron's wider gag order came after Trump's lawyers made what the judge characterized as "on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks" about his law clerk.

They "falsely [accused] her of bias against them and of improperly influencing the ongoing bench trial," Engoron wrote. "These arguments have no basis."

"The threat of, and actual, violence resulting from heated political rhetoric is well documented," Engoron wrote. "Since the commencement of this bench trial, my chambers have been inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages."

"The First Amendment right of defendants and their attorneys to comment on my staff is far and away outweighed by the need to protect them from threats and physical harm," he continued.

Moving forward, Trump defense lawyers Christopher Kise, Alina Habba, and Clifford Robert are barred "from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff and me."

Engoron warned that violating the gag order would "result in serious sanctions."

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