Tom Clancy’s US Politics Thread

After hours of testimony from Donald Trump’s adult sons that the office of New York Attorney General called “extremely” favourable in its case against his business empire, attorneys for the former president raged at the judge overseeing the case, throwing a last-minute grenade into Thursday’s trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron snapped at Trump attorney Christopher Kise, who mentioned the judge’s chief clerk, the subject of disparaging comments from Mr Trump that prompted a gag order he subsequently violated twice.

“Do not refer to my staff again,” the judge said. “If there’s any further reference to anyone on my staff … I will include a standing gag order to include [attorneys].”

Judge Engoron suggested that there’s a “bit of misogyny” that fuels the comments against his female clerk, which Mr Trump’s attorneys flatly denied.

“I have an absolute right to get advice from my principal law clerk,” the judge said.

“There is no First Amendment value that I can see to refer to her, particularly when making things up – that’s not you, that’s someone else,” said Judge Engoron, referencing Mr Trump’s statements about her.

“So weighing First Amendment rights against the safety of my staff, when we know what’s going on out there in the world,” he added, alluding to harassment and threats of violence against public officials surrounding Mr Trump’s mountain of criminal and civil litigation. “Your points are not well taken.”

Attorneys Christopher Kise and Alina Habba criticised his clerk for passing him “notes” throughout the trial.

Judge Engoron slammed the bench with his hand as he spoke directly into a microphone, his voice booming in the echo-filled courtroom.

Those notes are “confidential communications from my law clerk,” he said, striking the bench with each word.