Donald Trump set to return to court TODAY for $250 million New York fraud trial

Former President Donald Trump was set to appear in a Manhattan courtroom again as his lawyers fight a fine of up to $250 million following a judge’s finding of fraud.

It was just the latest development in Trump’s web of legal drama. On Monday, a federal judge overseeing his January 6 case in Washington, D.C., imposed a gag order banning him from attacking Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, his prosecutors, court officers or witnesses. Trump has promised to appeal.

Later Tuesday, Trump will testify in the lawsuit against “FBI enthusiasts” Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

Stzrok, a former lead investigator in the Russia probe, says he was fired for exercising his First Amendment rights. He claims senior DOJ officers fired him after a brutal pressure campaign in which Trump accused him of treason and directing a “witch hunt” against him.

Former President Donald Trump arrived at Trump Tower on October 16, 2023, with plans to attend a court hearing in Manhattan in the penalty phase of a fraud trial for him and his company. He would also testify in the case of “FBI enthusiasts” Peter Strzok and Lisa Page

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson — who was in the courtroom for the start of Trump’s D.C. trial with Judge Tanya Chutkan — and a federal appeals court both greenlit Trump’s two-hour statement.

Strzok and Page, who had an affair, exchanged text messages in the run-up to the 2020 election in which they called Trump an “idiot” and a “disgusting human being.”

Trump and House Republicans who helped distribute the private texts said it revealed bias on the part of a “weaponized” government.

The deposition was moved from a planned Mar-a-Lago interview to an interview in New York to fit around Trump’s busy legal schedule.

“I will be the only politician in history who has a gag order where I can’t criticize people,” former President Donald Trump complained after a federal judge imposed a gag order banning him from attacking special counsel Jack Smith. judicial personnel

Trump will be questioned under oath as part of lawsuits against “FBI enthusiasts” Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, two former FBI employees who provoked the former president’s outrage after sending each other pejorative text messages about him

Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page is also suing. She resigned from her position as FBI attorney in 2018. She accuses DOJ of violating her privacy by making copies of her messages public

Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a gag order on Trump after the former president went after his clerk online

NYPD officers are briefed near the Manhattan Supreme Court ahead of former President Donald Trump’s appearance in Manhattan on Tuesday

Appearing for three consecutive days as the trial began, Judge Arthur Engoron blasted New York AG Letitia James for filing the charges against Trump and his company.

The judge has already granted summary judgment on fraud, so the trial must determine the amount of any fine.

Judge Engoron gave Trump a jab after attacking his clerk on the former president’s Truth Social platform.

He called her “Schumer’s girlfriend” and posted a link to her private Instagram account with an image of them together – and then deleted it.

The judge banned Trump from talking about the $250 million civil fraud case and the judge’s staff.

In his Washington, D.C., case related to his efforts to overturn the election, Judge Chutkan cited the New York case and imposed a limited gag order barring Trump from calling special counsel Jack Smith, himself, prosecutors or witnesses to attack. Trump had called Smith “deranged” just hours before her order.

Trump is still allowed to attack Washington DC, the location for that trial. He called it ‘rat infested’