New York, November 29: Former President Donald Trump has appealed to a New York court to maintain the stay on the restriction order imposed in his $250 million civil fraud lawsuit. Trump argued that it is not appropriate to restrict his constitutional right to defend himself from threats against the judge and his law clerk.
Last week, the New York Attorney General’s office and the court requested the appeals court to strengthen the gag order because of “serious and credible” threats directed at Judge Arthur Engoron in his chambers since the trial began in October.
In a filing Monday before the appeals court, which includes two judges appointed by Barack Obama and one appointed by Joe Biden, Trump’s lawyers argued that he did not personally threaten the judge or his lead law clerk, And they should not be held accountable for others. ‘Action. He invoked the First Amendment, asserting Trump’s right to criticize and expose alleged bias by the judge and his law clerk without facing retaliation, and stressed the importance of maintaining public confidence in the trial. Went.
“On the basis of this, the disturbing conduct by anonymous, third-party actors toward the judge and principal law clerk publicly presiding over an extremely polarizing and high-profile lawsuit deserves appropriate safeguards,” the legal team said. However, this does not justify a wholesale abrogation of petitioners’ First Amendment rights in high-stakes proceedings that have been compromised by the introduction of partisan bias on the bench.
The filing followed the release of hundreds of harassing messages directed at Judge Angoron and his law clerk, including 20-30 calls per day to the clerk’s personal cell phone, 30-50 daily messages on social media and emails. A New York appeals court judge had previously temporarily lifted the gag order, allowing Trump and his lawyers to argue bias by law clerks based on political donations to organizations supporting Trump and New York Attorney General, Letitia James. Was inspired to.
Trump’s legal team claimed that the law clerk was “co-judging” the case due to frequent consultation with the judge. The appeals court judge, acknowledging constitutional concerns, decided to temporarily lift the ban order, allowing a full panel of judges to assess the situation.
Prosecutors lawyers argued for reinstatement of the gag order, citing an increase in disturbing messages, including anti-Semitic material, since it was temporarily lifted on November 16. Trump’s lawyers countered that Trump should not be held responsible for comments made by others and clarified that neither Trump nor his lawyers targeted the law clerk based on her religion, appearance or personal activities
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