The Daily Fuckup

By Nov. 5, 2023, the New York fraud case against Donald Trump was no longer only a dispute over balance sheets and real estate valuations. It had also become a test of whether Trump would stay within the courtroom rules after Judge Arthur Engoron put limits on his public comments and then enforced them with a fine. The case page on the New York courts website shows the trial and related motions moving forward through the fall, while the judge’s orders kept the fight in the public eye. ([ww2.nycourts.gov](https://ww2.nycourts.gov/people-v-donald-j-trump-criminal-37026?utm_source=openai))

The core allegations had not changed. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office accused Trump and the Trump Organization of repeatedly inflating the value of properties and other assets to improve their standing with lenders and insurers. In September 2023, before the trial phase covered by this story, Engoron had already issued a partial summary judgment finding that Trump and the defendants committed fraud by falsely inflating asset values. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2024/attorney-general-james-wins-landmark-victory-case-against-donald-trump?utm_source=openai))

The courtroom controversy over Trump’s posts came first. On Oct. 3, 2023, Engoron entered a limited gag order after Trump published a post targeting the judge’s law clerk. Later, on Oct. 20, 2023, Engoron fined Trump $5,000 after finding that a version of the post was still visible on a campaign website despite the order to take it down. Court records and appellate filings reflect both the Oct. 3 order and the Oct. 20 contempt finding. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/ad1/calendar/Motions_Word/2023/12_Dec/14/PDF/Trump%20v%20Engoron%20%28M-5338%29.pdf?utm_source=openai))

That fine was modest compared with the size of the fraud case, but it showed the judge was willing to punish noncompliance while the trial was still unfolding. The larger significance was procedural as much as political: Trump was fighting not just the attorney general’s fraud claims, but also the court’s effort to control what he said about the people deciding the case. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/ad1/calendar/Motions_Word/2023/12_Dec/14/PDF/Trump%20v%20Engoron%20%28M-5338%29.pdf?utm_source=openai))

The result was a case with two tracks running at once. One track examined years of financial statements and asset valuations. The other measured whether Trump would comply with court orders in real time. By Nov. 5, both were still adding pressure, and neither had gone away. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2024/attorney-general-james-wins-landmark-victory-case-against-donald-trump?utm_source=openai))