According to Mediaite, during former President Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial, a tense exchange unfolded on Thursday between Judge Arthur Engoron and Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise, culminating in Engoron accusing Kise of misogyny and cautioning him against referring to the court clerk. The incident, as reported by the New York Post, revealed a contentious atmosphere in the courtroom.
Engoron expressed his disapproval of Kise repeatedly referring to his principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, as a “female principal law clerk,” suggesting a potential undertone of misogyny. Kise reportedly vehemently denied the accusation, emphasizing that he was happily married and the father of a teenage girl. In response, Engoron issued a warning, sternly instructing Kise not to make any further references to his court staff. He emphasized that the individuals in question were civil servants following his directives.
Furthermore, Engoron threatened to extend Trump’s existing gag order to encompass Kise and other members of Trump’s legal team should they persist in mentioning court staff during the trial. Last month, Engoron had fined Trump $10,000 for violating the gag order after Trump criticized Engoron and his supposedly partisan law clerk. Prior to that, Trump had been fined an additional $5,000 for refusing to remove a Truth Social post that targeted Engoron’s law clerk.
“I sometimes think there might be a bit of misogyny when you keep referring to my ‘female principal law clerk,’” said Engoron during the exchange, which reportedly prompted Kise to “adamantly” deny he was a misogynist and bring up the fact that “he was happily married and a father of a teenage girl,” the Post reported.
Engoron then reportedly warned Kise, “All joking aside, do not refer to my staff again… The person sitting along side me is a civil servant, doing what I ask her to do.”
The tense courtroom confrontation highlighted the heightened tensions surrounding the trial and the judge’s firm stance on maintaining decorum and respect for court staff.
