Former President Donald Trump's civil business trial wrapped up the day with a judge's warning against his attorney's "misogyny" following an accusation of bias by a court clerk.
"Do not refer to my staff again," Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron told Trump's lawyer Christopher Kise toward the end of testimony by the former president's son, Eric Trump.
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Engoron is presiding over the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization and threatened to apply a previously issued gag order blocking Donald Trump and the parties from commenting about his staff. Donald Trump has been fined a total of $15,000 for two previous violations and has been warned about stricter consequences for future incidents.
"Sometimes I think there's a bit of misogyny in you referring to my female principal law clerk," the judge suggested, adding, "She's a civil servant."
Trump attorney Alina Habba stood up to defend Kise, saying, "I assure you that’s not the issue."
Habba defended Kise's swipe against the clerk because of her frequent passing of notes to Engoron during the proceedings. Engoron pointed out that Donald Trump's attorneys often pass notes to each other similarly.
"I have the right to make points on the record," Kise said regarding his swipe against the clerk. "If there is bias in the proceedings, I have the right to raise that."
Engoron cited “the safety of my staff when we know what’s going on out there in the world," adding, “I have an absolute right to get advice from my principal law clerk."
“Your points are not well taken," Engoron said, according to a New York Daily News reporter in the room.
The exchange concluded a lengthy day of hearing witnesses from the stand, which began with resumed testimony from Donald Trump Jr. and continued with Eric Trump testifying, saying that he held a role in the center of his father's company but denied involvement in its financial statements.
Donald Trump was found liable for several of the allegations in James's complaint in a pretrial ruling, which also determined Donald Trump must be stripped of his business licenses in New York, a ruling he has since appealed. The trial, expected to last through the middle of December, focuses on a few remaining allegations and will also determine if Donald Trump has to pay $250 million in damages over the case.
The former president's active legal proceedings are scattered across the country this week, including two state court hearings in Colorado and Minnesota on whether he can be barred from appearing on primary election ballots. Meanwhile, court orders are regularly being given in his two federal criminal cases led by special counsel Jack Smith.
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Thursday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan scheduled jury selection to begin Feb. 9 in his Washington, D.C., trial on charges of seeking to subvert the 2020 election results. That trial is slated to begin March 4, just before Super Tuesday.
Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges in both of Smith's federal cases, one in Washington, D.C., that alleges a "criminal scheme" to undo the results of the 2020 election and a Florida case over alleged retention of classified documents and efforts to obstruct an investigation. He's also pleaded not guilty to state charges in New York and Georgia, which are still pending trial dates.