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The
judge overseeing the case, Justice Arthur Engoron, issued the
gag order on Oct. 3 after the former U.S. president shared on
social media a photo of the judge's law clerk posing with U.S.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and falsely
called her Schumer's girlfriend."
The post left the court "inundated" with hundreds of threats
made by Trump supporters, Engoron said.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential
nomination, appealed the order last month, arguing it violated
his constitutional right to free speech.
On Thursday, the mid-level state appeals court, known as the
Appellate Division, said the gag order did not have a major
impact.
"Here, the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the
Gag Order is narrow, limited to prohibiting solely statements
regarding the court's staff," the order read.
Trump's lawyers did not respond to a requests for comment.
Testimony concluded on Wednesday in the trial over a lawsuit
brought by the New York attorney general seeking to fine Trump
at least $250 million and sharply curtail his ability to do
business in New York - home to several of his iconic properties
- for lying about his net worth to dupe lenders.
Engoron has already ruled that Trump's financial statements were
fraudulent, largely limiting the trial to damages. Engoron is
expected to issue a verdict in writing after closing arguments
on Jan. 11.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the case a "scam."
The gag order was initially paused by a judge on Nov. 16 when
Trump appealed, but a panel of judges reinstated it two weeks
later.
The Appellate Division later on Thursday rejected Trump's
request for permission to appeal the reinstatement of the order
to the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court.
Engoron fined Trump a total of $15,000 for twice violating the
order.
Trump faces a raft of other legal troubles as he campaigns to
face President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election,
including four criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty in all
four.
None have diminished his commanding lead in polls over rivals
for the Republican nomination.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New YorkEditing by Alistair Bell)
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