Donald Trump lawyers hit with setback as NY judge extends gag order

The attorneys were slapped with the gag order by Judge Arthur Engoron.

16:06 ET, Fri, Nov 3, 2023 | UPDATED: 17:23 ET, Fri, Nov 3, 2023

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A New York judge has extended a gag order to Donald Trump's attorneys over concerns of confidential communication between him and his court staff being shared.

Judge Arthur Engoron issued the ruling at 3.40pm ET on Friday (November 3).

In the written order, Engoron said: "Since the commencement of this bench trial, my chambers have been inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters and packages.

"The First Amendment right of defendants and their attorneys to comment on my staff is far and away outweighed by the need to protect them from threats and physical harm."

He threatened "serious sanctions" if the orders are broken.

Donald Trump

Trump's attorneys have been ordered to not say anything else about the courtroom proceedings (Image: Getty)

Engoron also pointed out that he had every right to communicate with his staff about active proceedings.

He said: "[Attorneys] are prohibited from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff and me.

"Failure to abide by this directive shall result in serious sanctions."

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Donald Trump

Trump's attorneys could face "serious sanctions" if they continued to disregard Engoron's rulings (Image: Getty)

With Trump due on the witness stand next week in the civil fraud trial, testimony from his adult sons wrapped up Friday with Eric Trump saying he relied completely on accountants and lawyers to assure the accuracy of financial documents key to the case.

Trump is scheduled to testify Monday in the case, which comes as he leads Republican 2024 presidential hopefuls.

The civil case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses him, his company and executives of deceiving banks and insurers by exaggerating his wealth on his annual financial statements.

Trump and the other defendants deny the allegations.