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In the midst of his ongoing legal dispute, former president Donald Trump has openly critiqued Judge Arthur Engoron. This occurs outside a courtroom occupied by his fraud trial, a legal battle initiated by New York Attorney General Letitia James with Engoron taking the helm. Trump’s presence has been noteworthy, with frequent appearances and outspoken commentary offered to the media between sessions.
Despite the pressing legal matter, his attention was recently sidetracked. Reporters probing for his thoughts on both the recent political debate, which saw candidates offer criticism towards him, and his shadowy promise of a ‘day one dictatorship’ were side-stepped with fervour by Trump.
One journalist posed the question to Trump, ‘How do you feel about the jabs taken at you during yesterday’s debate? Do you think the president performed well?’ Trump responded assertively, ‘I appreciate your question. This entire trial feels tantamount to a witch hunt of unprecedented scale. With violent crime wreaking havoc on the streets, our focus is misdirected towards this spectacle. I truly believe our Attorney General has lost perspective.’
Every day Trump has to spend in a court to fight these BS charges is a day he can’t campaign or spend time speaking to the issues in America.
This election is being rigged by the courts. pic.twitter.com/iScfYF4QzW
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) December 7, 2023
The former president continued, ‘She’s under the impression that her ally, Engoron, is skewed in her favor based on the evidence presented. He had his mind made up before the case even began. It’s difficult to work with a bias like that. Every step of the way, it feels like I’m fighting uphill.’
‘As an example of the absurdity of this situation, she claims that my assets have a worth in the realm of $18 million while I know their value to be 50 to 100 times higher. We had an initial victory in the appellate division, but this judge refuses to acknowledge that win.’ Trump finished his remarks expressing acknowledgment to the press.
Trump, refusing to be silenced, sought to appeal the gag order imposed on him by the presiding state judge of his civil fraud case. This comes shortly after the lower court’s decision to uphold the limitation. The gag order, enforced since the initial phase of his trial, has stemmed from social media posts directed towards Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and his office.
According to available reports, Trump’s appeal appeared in the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department docket earlier in the week, revealing the intention to object the lower court’s ruling at the state’s supreme court. ‘Engoron argues that following a social media comment from Trump, his principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, experienced a torrent of harassing and antisemitic messages.’
The commentary in question involved Trump posting an image of Greenfield alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to whom he humorously linked her. After being ordered to erase the post and adhere to a gag order on the same day, allegations arose that Trump breached the order twice, resulting in penalties totaling $15,000. The extended embargo now also prevents his legal advisors from talking publicly about discussions with the aforementioned court clerk.
Stretching beyond the federal and state legal challenges, Trump is combating moves to exclude him from the 2024 electoral race in several states. Numerous entities, including a dozen attorneys general from Republican-dominated states, supported a legal challenge to Trump’s eligibility to feature on Colorado’s 2024 ballot roll.
In the following month, a ruling dismissed the claims of six voters who asserted Trump’s involvement in fueling the infamous Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill, noting it lacked merit. The same case is set to be presented at the Colorado Supreme Court shortly. The kernel of the case is invoking a Civil War-era insurrection clause to block Trump from presidency as reported by Colorado News.
In a judgment rendered mid-November, Judge Sarah B. Wallace asserted that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, though indicating Trump’s alleged ‘participation in insurrection’, is not applicable to the presidential office. The law stipulates that anyone supporting the Constitution through oath who later transgresses cannot hold office subsequently.
Both sides of the dispute have chosen to elevate the case to the apex state court. Wallace’s delineation that the POTUS doesn’t fall under ‘officer(s) of the United States’ in Section 3 was dubbed as ‘illogical’ by the plaintiffs, a point of view also shared by the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.
On a parallel note, Trump’s legal team has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of multiple facets of the case, including the finding that the former commander-in-chief was implicated in an alleged insurrection.
The multi-pronged challenges Trump is facing depicts a vigor in his resistance – fighting court orders, preserving his dignity in the face of criticism, and pushing back attempts to remove him from future electoral contention. His engagement with the press showcases a man determined to have his narrative be heard, regardless of the question at hand.
While the cases continue to unfold; underlying bias, potential misjudgment of assets, and First Amendment rights come into the public gaze for analysis and debate. The saga between Trump and the judiciary promises to be full of intrigue, as onlookers eagerly anticipate each next step in these multi-dimensional legal battles.
