Judge lifts Trump gag order in New York civil fraud case

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- An appeals court in New York temporarily lifted a gag order barring Donald Trump from talking about details of his civil fraud case.

The move follows a lawsuit filed Wednesday by Trump's legal team against Judge Arthur Engoron. Trump's team claimed Engoron's enforcement of the gag order "cast serious doubts" on the judge's ability to serve as an "impartial finder of fact" overseeing the former president's case.

"His extraordinary expansion of that order both limits and chills advocacy on Petitioners' behalf and precludes counsel on pain of contempt from making a record of misconduct and bias in a public courtroom," Trump's counsel wrote in the emergency suit.

The New York appellate court granted an interim stay of Engoron's gag orders and the sanctions that resulted from violating them after oral arguments Thursday.

The gag orders were the result of online attacks Trump made on Engoron's law clerk, Allison Greenfield, who has become a central character in the fraud trial.

In a post on his Truth Social social media account, Trump accused Greenfield, falsely, of being Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's, D-N.Y., "girlfriend," and posted personal information that allowed readers to easily identify her. In a statement to The Hill, a spokesperson for Schumer called the social media post "ridiculous, absurd, and false."

Trump and his legal team have made repeated suggestions that the clerk is overly involved in the fraud case, saying she acts as a "co-judge," and have criticized her for whispering to the judge and passing him notes. The judge has fined Trump $15,000 for a host of violations.

Engoron called Trump to the witness stand and asked the former president to explain a comment he made about the clerk at one point in the testimony.

The judge in the appeals case cited concerns over restricting Trump's free speech rights in his decision to put the gag order on hold. That means Trump can now comment freely about Engoron's staff while the appeals process plays out, with no repercussions or likely bearing on the outcome of the case or the damage done to those he criticizes.

Trump called the gag order "Ridiculous and Unconstitutional" on social media and applauded the appeals court for lifting it, describing the case as "politically biased and out of control."

Within hours of the gag order being lifted, Trump was again leveling criticism at Greenfield and Engoron on social media.