Trump Posts Then DELETES His Dangerous Personal Attack on Judge’s Law Clerk
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool
Former President Donald Trump took his intimidation tactics to a dangerous new level on Tuesday when he posted the name, photo, and link to a private Instagram account of a law clerk serving Judge Arthur Engoron, who is currently presiding over the GOP frontrunner’s civil fraud trial.
UPDATE: Trump has since deleted the Truth Social post, but the email blast he sent, including the screenshot, cannot be unsent.
Trump has received widespread criticism from both political and legal officials about his naked intimidation tactics that put a target on the back of private citizens who are not working in the public political arena. But as of Tuesday, Trump has ignored warnings and taken it to a dangerous and disgusting new level.
These are challenging stories to cover as they can easily be seen as amplifying intimidation efforts and making matters worse for the target. But it is impossible to cover without being clear about the people involved, so Mediaite will share the details here via a screenshot.
Trump posted the attack on social media, including an X post from an account called “Judicial Protest” that named Judge Engoron’s principal law clerk, Allison R. Greenfield, and featured an image of her standing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The post asks, “Why is Judge Engoron’s Principal Law Clerk, Allison R. Greenfield, palling around with Chuck Schumer?”
Trump commented, “Schumer’s girlfriend, Alison R. Greenfield, is running this case against me. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!” He then included a link to her personal Instagram account, which has since been set to private.
After posting to social media, a screenshot of his post was then sent via his vast email network, with the subject “Truth from President Donald J. Trump.”
First of all, by all accounts, Senator Schumer is happily married, so the implication of “girlfriend” here, even if said in jest, is grossly misleading and irresponsible. Secondly, given Trump’s constant spouting of animus towards courts, to an audience of extremist supporters who have demonstrated their willingness to take up arms on his behalf? That is simply reprehensible.
Finally, it’s inaccurate for Trump to say that Greenfield is “running this case” against him. That is not the role of a principal law clerk. From a recent job posting by the NY State courts, their responsibilities read as such: “Principal Law Clerks to Judge are responsible for researching and analyzing uniquely intricate, complex, and sensitive legal issues and questions for individual judges. They also provide other personal and confidential assistance to an individual judge or judges.”
Trump appears to have so few options left, he’s resorted to launching personal attacks on civil servants who have only researched casework on behalf of their judges, like the proverbial cornered rat he’s become. Trump should be shamed for this and future intimidation actions, and if he can no longer refrain, he should seriously be put under some sort of order of restraint.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
