Trump baselessly claims fraud trial against him is a ‘scam and a sham’
Donald Trump returned to the New York courtroom where his $250m civil fraud trial is now in its third week.
The former president was originally believed to be heading back to court for a showdown with former “fixer” Michael Cohen. However, Cohen’s testimony has now been delayed. In addition, Mr Trump met for a deposition as part of lawsuits from two former FBI employees who sent negative texts about him.
In other legal troubles, the judge overseeing the federal criminal case charging him with his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election imposed a partial gag order on Mr Trump on Monday, muzzling some of what he can say about his upcoming trial.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Mr Trump and others in the case cannot make, post or share statements targeting Special counsel Jack Smith, the court, court staff, and witnesses in the case. The former president also can’t refer to Mr Smith as a “thug” or “deranged”.
Mr Trump’s legal team has filed a motion saying they intend to appeal the gag order. The former president told supporters at a rally in Iowa on Monday night: “We’ll appeal it. And we’ll see. But it’s so unconstitutional.”
