Trump civil fraud case: Court refuses to lift gag order against former US president

A court in New York on Thursday (Dec 14) refused to lift a gag order against former US president Donald Trump which prohibited him from making public comments about court staff involved in the civil fraud trial against him. The gag order was issued earlier by Judge Arthur Engoron after Trump made a social media post that had a photo of the judge's law clerk posing with Chuck Schumer, a senator from the Democratic Party and alleged that she wasSchumer's girlfriend.

Judge Engoron said that after the post on social media, Trump supporters made hundreds of threats to the court.

Trump made an appeal against the gag order arguing that it violated his right to free speech.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Watch | US: Latest survey finds President Biden lagging behind former President Trump

On Thursday, the state appeals court in New York said that the gag order did not significantly impact Trump's right to free speech.

"Here, the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the Gag Order is narrow, limited to prohibiting solely statements regarding the court's staff," the order read.

There was no immediate public comment from the Trump camp.

The case against Trump

The civil fraud lawsuit has been brought against Trump by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James. It alleges that Trump and his two eldest sons inflated the value of their assets in order to get soft bank loans and favourable insurance terms. The lawsuit seeks to make Trump pay at least $USD 250 million and to severely curtail his ability to do business in New York.

Also Read | Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani opts not to testify in Georgia defamation trial

Judge Engoron has already ruled that Trump's financial statements were fraudulent. The final written verdict in the case is expected following closing arguments on January 11.

Also Read | Donald trumps Biden in all swing states, key survey says

Trump has denied charges against him and has said that the case was a "scam"

The former president got a small relief when a judge temporarily paused the gag order. But a judges panel reimposed it just two weeks later.

(With inputs from agencies)