“I just posted a $175,000,000 Bond just for the right to Appeal this travesty of a case, which I won at the Appellate Division, but this Judge refuses to accept- A FIRST,” former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, attacking Judge Arthur Engoron.
Engoron is not the judge in Trump’s imminent “hush money” trial scheduled for April 15 in New York, rather he is the judge who issued the judgement for which the appeal bond was due in Trump’s New York civil fraud trial.
The distinction between the judges is pertinent to the issue of Trump’s heated rhetoric because the “hush money” trial judge Juan Merchan had just expanded his gag order on Trump, limiting the judicial targets that the former President can verbally attack without consequences. But neither Merchan’s gag order nor Engoron’s own gag order on Trump, upheld by the appellate court, shields Engoron from Trump’s rhetoric. In other words, Engoron is a target less likely to get Trump in more legal trouble.
[NOTE: Merchan explained his expanded gag order as a protection of both people and the process, writing: “The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well.” The attacks, which could intimidate jurors, witnesses and even judicial staff, will “undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.”]
Judge Merchan extended the Gag order to include his daughter, family members and the family of District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
— Ford News (@FordJohnathan5) April 2, 2024
Trump’s post above asserting that he won the “right to Appeal” at the “Appellate Division” is not technically accurate. Like any plaintiff, Trump has a right to appeal the civil decision against him in New York — he didn’t win that right.
Yet being required to post a surety bond in order to appeal the decision and getting the amount required reduced by the appellate court can be construed as a “win” — as Trump seems to do here. The appellate court knocked the bond amount down to $175 million from more than $450 million. Trump posted the bond this week.
[For clarity: Trump didn’t win his appeal of the verdict at the Appellate Division — Engoron’s decision that Trump is liable for fraud has not been reversed on appeal. (The appeal process is just beginning.) What Trump did gain at the appellate court was a 10-day extension to post the bond and a major reduction in the amount he needed to post.]
Trump’s attacks on Engoron included the former President’s oft-repeated insinuation that the judge is part of a Democratic conspiracy committing “election interference” to hinder his presidential bid — though nearly all the cases against Trump and the alleged acts for which he’s being prosecuted predate the declaration of his 2024 candidacy, which Trump announced in November 2022.
[NOTE: In September 2022 Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, a number of Trump Organization companies, and senior executives for “engaging in years of financial fraud and illegal conduct.”]
“Think of it,” Trump wrote earlier this week, “I had to pay an enormous sum for the right to Appeal the ridiculous decision of a CROOKED Judge and A.G. This is Election Interference, and it all comes directly from Joe Biden and the White House. An attack, along with ALL OF THE OTHERS, on his political opponent, ME!”