A New York appellate court on Thursday denied former President Donald Trump, and his legal team, a request they filed to lift the gag order placed on them by Judge Arthur Engoron in Trump's civil fraud trial. Trump's request to have the order lifted that barred him from criticizing the principal law clerk, who is assisting the Judge on the case, was smacked down by the panel, in addition to them lifting the pause of enforcement of the gag order. 

Trump and his lawyers claim the clerk acts as a “co-judge” in the case and have criticized her for passing notes and whispering with the judge. The former president previously testified that he thinks the clerk is “very biased against us.”

Trump racked up $15,000 in fines for various violations of the order — and, the order was expanded to include remarks about the clerk by his counsel — before his legal team appealed it.

Trump allegedly made remarks against the clerk on his social media platform, Truth Social, where he said that she was "very disturbed and angry." Trump's legal team has consistently argued that the clerk has acted as a de facto "co-judge" in the case and has "tainted" the legal process of the trial. However, the clerk is not the only person to be a target of criticism from Trump. 

Trump has repeatedly criticized Judge Engoron's wife on Truth Social, several times, where he posted pictures of posts that she has made on X. Trump also allegedly made a post on Truth Social that referred to the clerk as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) “girlfriend” and included personal information about her on the same post. Other Trump surrogates have taken to various social media platforms with their own posts and attacks on Engoron, his family, and others, claiming everything from corruption to bias against Trump.

Judge Engoron has ordered Trump and his legal team in the past to stop making any criticism about the court staff and officers. Stating that these attacks would not be tolerated, and that they are inappropriate and unacceptable. Engoron even went as far as ordering Trump to the witness stand to explain his comments and attacks on the court, specifically his comments about the clerk.

In a motion filed earlier in November, Trump's legal team demanded a mistrial due to Judge Engoron and his clerk having "tainted" the trial due to their bias. Engoron denied their motion, calling it 'utterly without merit." Trump, both on and off the witness stand has repeatedly called into question, Judge Engoron's "impartiality"  and even claimed that he "hated" Trump. 

However, given that posts like these by the judge's wife, along with statements made by New York State Attorney General Leticia James, who is a registered Democrat, some believe the argument that Trump and his team are making. With cameras being allowed in the courtroom, one can't miss Judge Engoron excitedly taking his glasses off his face and putting a huge smile on his face as the cameras filmed him. 

Before the trial even began for Trump, Judge Engoron had already ruled that Trump, along with his sons Don and Eric, were liable for fraud. Furthermore, because this is not a jury trial, Judge Engoron is the ultimate deciding authority, and due to his previous ruling against Trump and his sons regarding the matter, it seems as though this trial is just a show for a foregone conclusion. 

Judge Arthur Engoron, ruling in a civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump and his company defrauded insurers, banks, and other business partners by massively overstating the value of his assets and net worth. Trump, Engoron ruled, had gone far beyond mere puffery and used fake values to get lower loan and insurance rates. The 35-page decision found that just as the former president had been somewhat parsimonious with the truth in his dealings with business partners, he and his legal team had actively obstructed the lawsuit and tried to prevent the special master appointed to monitor Trump Organization operations from doing their job.

Warning: coarse language

Donald Trump is expected to take the witness stand for the final time in December, before the trial wraps up and a verdict is handed down by Judge Engoron. But it is unknown when that might happen, or if he will have to wait until after the holiday season.