The New York State law clerk at the center of former President Donald Trump’s gag order previously ran as a Democratic candidate and donated thousands to local Democrats, records show.
Trump criticized Allison Greenfield, Principal Law Clerk to New York State Judge Arthur Engoron, on Truth Social on Tuesday for a picture she took with Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer. Engoron issued a gag order Tuesday preventing Trump from criticizing his staff after the now-deleted Truth Social post. (RELATED: Trump Team Pushes Back On Media Claims That They ‘Forgot’ To Request Jury Trial In NY)
Video cameras allowed into the courtroom for a brief moment – Judge gives a smile – Reporters are ushered out. pic.twitter.com/TSnxSLnLsQ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 2, 2023
Greenfield ran in the Democratic primary for a Manhattan civil court judge seat in 2022, her campaign website shows. She was labeled as one of the “most highly qualified” candidates in a February 2022 press release by the Manhattan Democratic Party announcing the results of its screening panel for judicial candidates. She ended up receiving two write-in votes in the June 2022 primary election for Democratic Judge of the Civil Court for the second municipal court district in New York City, election records show.
In addition, Greenfield has donated thousands to local Democratic candidates and branches as recently as May 2023, state and local campaign finance records show.
Her most recent donation occurred on May 30, 2023, and it was a $250 gift to the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, a local LGBT branch of the Manhattan Democratic Party, New York State campaign finance records indicate. She has given $4,366 worth of donations to Democrats.
New York City campaign finance records include two additional donations from Greenfield, one to local city councilman Erik Bottcher, and the other to Christopher Marte, another local city councilman. Greenfield listed her current profession on a Nov. 10, 2022 donation of $25 to Bottcher, records show. Her address information in the state campaign finance records corresponds to local records, and her zip code sits in the municipal court district where she ran for office.
Trump’s civil trial for alleged business fraud began Monday with Engoron overseeing the case. Engoron could be seen smiling for the cameras inside the courtroom when the trial began.
“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are not appropriate and I will not tolerate it under any circumstance,” Engoron said upon issuing the gag order, according to The Hill.
The judge ruled on Sept. 26 that Trump committed fraud while building his real estate business by overvaluing his assets and net worth. Engoron valued Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at $18 million, a significantly lower figure than real estate insiders believe the property is worth, according to the New York Post.
Trump told the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview he believes Mar-a-Lago is worth roughly $1.8 billion and he did not defraud any banks when he built up his business empire. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump Calls To Federalize Washington DC So He Cannot Be Tried In Court)
“The banks are happy. The banks got paid fully. They had the best lawyers in the country. They got all their money. They got all their interest. The banks have stated that they are thrilled. They got paid. They don’t even know why they are being involved in this thing,” Trump said.
“I built a great company, and I have a disclaimer clause in the agreement. He says that Mar-a-Lago is worth 18 million dollars when it is worth probably 100 times that, 1.8 billion dollars and there are others in there too,” he added. Trump has also called for Engoron to be “disbarred” and accused him of “election interference” by ruling Trump committed fraud.
Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in penalties and the judge to ban Trump from doing business in the state, according to The Associated Press. James campaigned on going after Trump and expressed concerns about his business empire when she first ran in 2018 for attorney general. She could be seen staring down Trump at the start of the trial Monday when cameras were in the courtroom.