The Chicago Seven Strategy Continues

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As I've been pointing out, Trump's strategy in at least two of his trials, the Washington January 6 case under Judge Chutkan and the New York civil fraud case under Judge Engoron, has been to irritate and bait the judges into overreacting, imposing gag orders and making reversible errors. As of yesterday,

A three-judge appeals court panel paused the federal gag order that partially limited former president Donald Trump's speech ahead of his federal 2020 election interference trial in Washington, D.C., according to a court ruling filed Friday.

The ruling administratively and temporarily stays Judge Tanya Chutkan's decision to bar Trump from publicly targeting court staff, potential witnesses and members of special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutorial team, a ruling Trump asked the higher court to put on hold. Friday's order is not a decision on the merits of the gag order Chutkan issued last month, but is meant to give the appeals court more time to consider the arguments in the case.

Judges Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee, Cornelia Pillard, another Obama appointee and Bradley Garcia, a Biden appointee, granted the former president's request for an emergency pause on the order less than 24 hours after Trump's attorneys filed a motion for a stay.

So far, Judge Chutkan hasn't lost her cool, but she can't be happy at the defense's continuing series of motions to stay her orders or dismiss the case entirely. Judge Engoron in New York, on the other hand, is doing exactly as the Trump team wishes:

New York County Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Friday gagged former President Donald Trump’s legal counsel from discussing his “confidential communications” with staff, including note-passing from clerk Allison Greenfield.

. . . “Serious sanctions” will be brought against the legal team if they violate the order, said Engoron, who is overseeing the civil lawsuit New York Attorney General Letitia James has brought against Trump and his eldest sons.

He specifically named Trump lawyers Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert, and Alina Habba, writing that they “have made, on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks about my Principal Law Clerk, falsely accusing her of bias against them and of improperly influencing the ongoing bench trial.”

The judge certainly appears to be highly sensitive to any imputations about his close relationsip with his principal clerk. Yesterday's gag order on Trump's counsel, on top of his earlier order and fines against Trump himself, followed a kerfuffle invovling Greenfield the day before:

Proceedings at Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York grew heated on Thursday, with the presiding judge pounding the bench and threatening to expand his gag order to keep the former president’s lawyers from attacking his court staff.

. . . State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron accused attorney Chris Kise of sexism for his repeated jabs at Engoron’s law clerk, Allison Greenfield, who sat to the judge’s immediate right. Trump’s legal team had previously expressed frustrations that Greenfield was passing notes to Engoron, allegedly swaying his opinion during the trial.

“She’s a civil servant. She’s doing what I ask her to do,” the judge snapped, according to the New York Daily News. “I sometimes think there may be a bit of misogyny in you referring to my female principal law clerk.”

Greenfield was previously the target of Trump’s ire in a mocking Oct. 3 social media post that led to Engoron issuing the initial gag order. The former president, who was in court that day, posted a photo of Greenfield with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to Truth Social, calling her “Schumer’s girlfriend” and accusing her of bias.

But the judge's problems with Greenfield go beyond wisecracks from Trump. News also broke Thursday of accusations against Greenfeld of ethical violations:

The top clerk for New York Justice Arthur Engoron, Allison Greenfield, appears to have violated judicial rules preventing officers of the court from making excessive political donations, Breitbart News has learned.

What’s more, it appears Engoron was advised of Greenfield’s violations in a 72-page complaint addressed to his court via email that was also filed with the New York State Bar Association the same day he decided to issue a gag order against former President Donald Trump in his case currently playing out in Engoron’s Manhattan courtroom. Engoron has subsequently fined Trump a total of $15,000 for two alleged violations of that gag order preventing the former president from criticizing his principal law clerk.

. . . New York ethics rules prohibit court officials like Greenfield from giving in excess of $500 in the aggregate in a particular calendar year in political donations.

. . .This year and last year, Greenfield apparently exceeded that $500 threshold. Greenfield began as Justice Engoron’s principal law clerk in 2019—so she has been in this position for several years and in the two most recent years, 2022 and 2023, she violated the ethics rules for judicial staff.

. . . In 2022 alone, Greenfield gave thousands of dollars in donations. The donations, which can be found in New York’s elections database, total several thousand dollars. . . . What, if anything, becomes of these alleged violations of the ethics rules by Greenfield remains to be seen. The judge in the case for now keeps siding with her, and even as recently as Thursday afternoon’s proceedings, according to live updates from New York Times reporters in the courtroom. Greenfield’s presence at Engoron’s side has been a centerpiece of the case as the trial plays out. The judge accused one Trump lawyer of “misogyny,” according to the Times, for raising questions about Greenfield.

Trump's legal team responded to the news on Thursday,

“There’s a news story out [today]…about particular political contributions made by your court staff…it raises questions of impartiality,” Kise said, according to Law360’s Stewart Bishop.

He added the “defense will have to give serious consideration to seeking a mistrial.”

According to Pix11 reporter Henry Rosoff, Engoron — who placed a gag order on Trump regarding Greenfield and has fined him twice for gag order violations — became frustrated.

. . . Engoron said Friday, “It’s not information, it’s an allegation!” according to Rosoff.

“This idea someone has notified me, absolutely untrue, absolutely untrue,” he added.

Trump and his lawyers so far appear to be succeeding in turning at least one of the cases into a farce, with the full cooperation of Judge Engoron, who has begun to overreact and lose his temper repeatedly. The Trump team clearly has gotten under his skin. It looks like the Chicago Seven strategy is working, and it will continue.