New York court re-imposes gag order on Donald Trump

A court in New York on Thursday (November 30) reinstated a gag order barring former US president Donald Trump from making public statements about court staff in the civil fraud case.

A New York appeals court reimposed the gag order that effectively asked Trump to refrain from attacking court staff. This has exposed Trump to steep penalties that will be levied if he violates the order a third time.

Gag order: Imposed, lifted then imposed again

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The gag order was imposed on Trump by Justice Arthur Engoron on October 3 following Trump's accusation of a top clerk of the court of being politically biased. Trump made the allegation on his Truth Social platform. Engoron said that after Trump's accusation, the court was 'inundated' with threats from supporters of Trump.

The order was temporarily paused by an appeals court judge on November 16.

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In the civil fraud case, Trump has been accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of inflating his assets by billions of dollars to get soft loans and favourable insurance terms.

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Trump has pleaded not guilty, denying any wrongdoing. He has accused James, who is an elected Democrat, of having political bias against him.

The gag order was earlier paused when Trump's lawyers filed an appeal saying that the order infringed upon Trump's right to free speech under the United States Constitution. The order has now again been imposed.

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Trump is currently facing a lot of legal trouble, from a civil fraud case to a case about the mishandling of important government documents. However, instead of hurting his chances, the legal troubles have boosted his approval ratings as he tries to win the Republican Party nomination for the US Presidential Election 2024. He is a clear frontrunner in the Republican field of presidential hopefuls. His immediate opponents, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have much lower approval ratings than him.

(With inputs from agencies)