Trump's lawyers used unverified right-wing news report to go after law clerk: Legal expert

During the civil fraud trial in New York, former President Donald Trump and his attorneys have repeatedly attacked the law clerk assisting Judge Arthur Engoron, to the point where it actually got the former president fined for violating the gag order in the trial. But there's actually a strange reason behind all this, said legal correspondent Lisa Rubin on MSNBC Friday — and it was all laid bare during the trial this week when Trump lawyer Christopher Kise made a new accusation he admitted he couldn't substantiate.

"There's the weird renewed attack on the clerk that happens after he gets off the stand," said anchor Chris Hayes.

"I think the renewed attack on the clerk sort of happens interspersed between damaging testimony," said Rubin. "And the narrative is that the clerk is this Rasputin-like figure, who is whispering in the ear of Judge Arthur Engoron, and constantly exchanging notes with him, looks with him, and influencing him beyond the way in which a normal law clerk/judge relationship is supposed to function. At least according to the Trump defense."

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"Now, today, they also leveled a claim that hadn't been made previously in court," Rubin continued. "That the law clerk, who has been known to be involved politically, she ran for a civil judgeship, the accusation was that she has made a bunch of campaign donations that are against rules of judicial conduct. Whether that will bear out to be true, I think it needs to be substantiated. But after putting that accusation out in the public domain, he was very clear, I can't substantiate that, Your Honor, I just read that — literally Chris, you could hear the loud size of exasperations coming all across the gallery, and not just from the attorney general's table and those at their office."

"He said, I just read that in Breitbart, in open court?" exclaimed Hayes. "That's a low blow moment."

"He just said, I know it was in the news, someone said what's the source for that, he said I think that was Breitbart," said Rubin. "At that point you could hear all of the people assembled roll their eyes, and let go of these long drawn-out exasperated sighs. But he also said, I'm not an internet person. In other words, I think that accusation is out there in the public domain. That was a news report this morning. But I'm not really familiar with the totality of the report. My question to Chris Kise would be, then why say that in open court on the record, if you're not trying to create your own prejudicial theater?"

Watch the video below or at the link right here.

Lisa Rubin explains why Trump's lawyers keep attacking the law clerk www.youtube.com