A day after a New York judge issued a limited gag order against Donald Trump for peddling false claims about his clerk outside the courtroom, the former president began to grumble about his civil bank fraud case inside the courtroom as the third day of the non-jury trial got underway Wednesday.
According to The Daily Beast, Trump — whose real estate empire received what legal experts called the "corporate death penalty" in a summary judgment in the case last week — began to complain and angrily folded his arms while staring at New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron after the judge noted that they could forgo typical courtroom formalities in the absence of a jury.
Trump then turned to his left to defense lawyer Alina Habba to groan what the outlet could discern as "no jury!", threw up his arms and shook his head before breathing out an annoyed sigh and slumping forward in his seat. Before the trial started Wednesday, those complaints received a louder voice on social media where he wrote, "I am not even entitled, under any circumstances, to a JURY. This Witch Hunt cannot be allowed to continue. It is Election Interference and the start of Communism right here in America!"
Minutes after, Trump grumbled in court that he couldn't quite hear what was being said by the witness being questioned — his former longtime account Donald Bender, who became a state witness and disavowed a lot of the work he'd completed for the Trump Organization; because he made millions at the Mazars USA firm by working for the Trump family, who invited him to enjoy golf courses, hotels and parties, Bender's testimony could be perceived as a betrayal.
According to The Messenger's Adam Klasfeld, Trump later put his in-house frustrations to paper, jotting notes, "noisily" complaining to his attorneys and sometimes punctuating his dissent with head shakes and points.
Since the time of the last post, Trump appears to have taken out his frustrations on paper, jotting down notes and whispering to his lawyers. He sometimes shakes his head and points.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 4, 2023
The former president also continued to throw up his hands and mutter to Habba while looking at papers she handed to him, Politico's Erica Orden reported.
He is again throwing up his hands and muttering to his lawyer Alina Habba. He has been looking at papers she is handing him.
— erica orden (@eorden) October 4, 2023
Legal experts criticized Trump's courtroom conduct online Wednesday, questioning how Engoron will react to the former president's griping.
"Generally speaking judges are not cool with parties doing this stuff," national security lawyer Bradley Moss wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
I defer to NY lawyers with an understanding of local practices but generally speaking judges are not cool with parties doing this stuff. https://t.co/gN6qV1hOeR
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) October 4, 2023
"I can't wait to see how long the judge puts up with Trump's steady stream of kvetching today," Elizabeth de la Vega, a former federal prosecutor, added. "Is Trump trying to get excluded from the courtroom so he has both an excuse to stop attending the trial and another bogus thing to complain about to his cultmembers?"
Well, I can't wait to see how long the judge puts up with Trump's steady stream of kvetching today. Is Trump trying to get excluded from the courtroom so he has both an excuse to stop attending the trial and another bogus thing to complain about to his cultmembers? https://t.co/pTsFCFUTni
— Elizabeth de la Vega (@Delavegalaw) October 4, 2023
This week marked the first time the former president has been in court while the details of his personal finances have been put on display in full. He did not appear at the Manhattan criminal trial last year that resulted in his family company being convicted of tax fraud and fined $1.6 million.
Trump's real estate empire took a massive blow in this civil case after the Engoron ordered the dissolution of some of Trump's key businesses in last week's ruling. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the suit against the former president, is still seeking a $250 million penalty against him and a ban on him serving as an officer or director of other New York companies.
