Donald Trump abruptly left the courtroom this afternoon! The incident reportedly came after Trump was forced to take the stand for “violating” a gag order. The former president was also fined $10,000!
Mr Trump had reportedly accused the judge and the person “sitting alongside him” of being “very partisan”. Judge Arthur Engoron found those comments violated a gag order against speaking about court staff during his civil trial for business fraud. In an unscheduled hearing, Judge Engoran called the former president to the stand.
The judge asked Mr Trump to explain who he was referring to when he told the press that Mr Engoron was a “very partisan judge, with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”
“You and Cohen,” Mr Trump replied, referring to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who was testifying against him that day
“Are you sure you didn’t mean the person” sitting to his side, Judge Engoron asked, meaning his clerk.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Mr Trump said.
“As the trier of fact, I find the witness is not credible,” Judge Engonon said, before allowing Mr Trump to step down.
The tense exchange took place in the midst of a high-stakes civil trial that could see Mr Trump lose some of his most iconic real-estate assets, and his ability to lead the organisation that he founded in the state of New York. Judge Engoron had previously ruled the Trump Organization committed fraud, and the current trial is focused on additional charges.
The former president was already under a gag order from Mr Engoron because he had posted disparaging comments about the same clerk in early October. When he had discovered the comments were still up on Mr Trump’s campaign website several days later, Mr Engoron had issued a $5,000 fine and a warning to Mr Trump.
The judge saw Mr Trump’s comments today as a further attack on this clerk. Mr Trump’s lawyers, Chris Kise and Alina Habba, attempted to dissuade the bench, arguing Mr Trump was actually referring to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who was on the witness stand that day. Ms. Habba at one point implied the judge was being unfair to their side.
The “influence happening from the bench is completely inappropriate,” she said.