A federal appeals court judge in New York issued a stay on Thursday that temporarily relieves former President Donald Trump of the gag order limiting his First Amendment rights to scrutinize the partisan campaign to undermine and break up the Trump Organization.
“Considering the constitutional and statutory rights at issue, an interim stay is granted,” Judge David Friedman wrote after the emergency hearing on Thursday.
A giddy Judge Arthur Engoron, the presiding authority in the civil fraud trial, first muzzled Trump on Oct. 3.
Engoron used the order to fine Trump and his legal team a total of $15,000 for allegedly violating the gag order twice over a social media post and criticism of the judge’s principal law clerk Allison Greenfield, a leftist partisan with ties to several high-profile “get Trump” Democrats.
Trump’s lawyers not only appealed the gag order — which Trump emphasized “Unconstitutionally prohibited me & my attorneys from talking about important elements of a Fraud case” — but also demanded a mistrial after pointing out the “tangible and overwhelming” bias plaguing the proceedings.
Friedman’s stay holds until the appellate court issues a decision on the Trump team’s appeal.
Trump maintains that New York Attorney General Letitia James and Engoron “worked in COLLUSION to make some assets many times lower in Value than they are” such as lowballing his sprawling Florida mansion Mar-a-Lago by hundreds of millions of dollars.
“By doing this, they ridiculously & wrongfully, without Knowledge, Trial, or Jury (which is not allowed in this case!), ruled that I was guilty of FRAUD,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.
Shortly after an appeals judge issued a stay against what Trump called a “Radical and Unprecedented” act of censorship, the Republican unleashed on Engoron for leading the left’s “wicked attack on Democracy.”
“Judge Arthur Engoron has just been overturned (stayed!) by the New York State Appellate Division (Appeals Court), for the 4th TIME (on the same case!). His Ridiculous and Unconstitutional Gag Order, not allowing me to defend myself against him and his politically biased and out of control, Trump Hating Clerk, who is sinking him and his Court to new levels of LOW, is a disgrace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They are defending the Worst and Least Respected Attorney General in the United States, Letitia James, who is a Worldwide disgrace, as is her illegal Witch Hunt against me.”
Trump also called James’ case “a miscarriage of justice.”
“A.G. Letitia Peekaboo James is running for Governor of New York AGAIN!!! That is why she, with the help of a very complicit Judge Engoron, who has cut my Values to a tiny fraction of what they are really worth in order to claim FRAUD, has brought this ridiculous case against me,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday.
Trump’s team may have found temporary protection of the presidential candidate’s First Amendment rights in New York, but their appeal to halt Judge Tanya Chutkan’s “unconstitutional” gag order in Washington D.C. is still awaiting relief.
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