Judge threatens to jail Trump for 'blatant' gag order violation

A New York judge has threatened Donald Trump with jail for a "blatant violation" of a gag order in his civil fraud trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron said in court that the former president had failed to remove a social media post mocking a clerk at the court.

Judge Engoron demanded Mr Trump take down the "untrue and disparaging" post about the clerk earlier this month.

He said the post was deleted on social media, but remained on his website.

"Incendiary untruths can and have led to serious physical harm," Judge Engoron said on Friday.

"I will now allow the defendant to explain why this should not end up with serious sanctions or I could possibly imprison him."

Mr Trump's lawyer, Christopher Kise, apologised on his client's behalf and said it was an "inadvertent" mistake because while the post was deleted from Truth Social, aides forgot to remove it from the campaign website.

The judge said he would take the matter "under advisement" and rule on the matter later.

Mr Trump and several of his family members are on trial for fraud, falsification of business records, issuing false financial statements and conspiracy.

The non-jury, civil trial is focused on determining damages for the fraud that Judge Engoron has already determined Mr Trump committed by inflating his personal net worth to attract favourable loan agreements.

New York Attorney General Letiticia James, who brought the case, is seeking $250m (£205m) in penalties and severe restrictions for Mr Trump's businesses.

Judge Engoron issued a gag order against Mr Trump on 3 October after he made a post on his social media site Truth Social disparaging the judge's clerk.

In the post, Mr Trump had shared a picture of the clerk alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, claiming she was his "girlfriend".

It was not the first time this week that the judge admonished the former president, who attended several days of the trial.

On Wednesday, Judge Engoron told Mr Trump and others to be quiet during a real estate appraiser's second day of testimony on the witness stand. Mr Trump was reportedly shaking his head and throwing his hands in the air in frustration.

After a request from a lawyer with the New York Attorney General's Office, Judge Engoron asked people to keep their voices down, "particularly if it's meant to influence the testimony".

The same day, a New York court employee was arrested after she shouted out to Mr Trump, "indicating she wanted to assist him", said court officials.

She was escorted out of court, placed on administrative leave and charged with contempt of court.

The New York fraud case is one of several legal challenges that the former president is battling this year, including both federal and state criminal charges.

Additional reporting from Pratiksha Ghildial