New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Tuesday rejected objections Donald Trump's unmasked attorneys raised to the hearing moving forward given their COVID-19 concerns, ordering the former presidents $250 million fraud trial to continue.
At the start of Tuesday's hearing, Trump lawyer Chris Kise announced that four members of the attorney general's office had contracted COVID-19 last week and complained about the office's lack of notification regarding the exposures, Politico's Erica Orden reported. He added that he's sitting farther away from the prosecutors' table because he is concerned about being exposed.
"We have the leading candidate for president of the United States in this courtroom today," Kise said, adding, "I don't think we should really be here today" before arguing for court to be postponed. He further accused the attorney general of disregarding health protocols because "nothing else matters, except for pursuing President Trump," reported MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin. But Engoron pushed back, noting that no member of the defense was wearing a mask even though they are welcome to.
"Masks are available. We will proceed,” the judge decided, adding, per RawStory, that he hoped the trial would progress "briskly" because former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen was slated to take the stand. Masked prosecutor Louis Solomon stood to declare that he had adhered to all CDC guidelines for isolating, testing and masking, and echoed the judge's point.
But that order didn't persuade Trump lawyer Alina Habba, who then requested a separate microphone from the defense because she did not wish to use a "contaminated" mic, despite remaining unmasked. "Relations are frayed: Solomon, visibly frustrated, notes the mic was provided by the AG’s office and they are free to bring their own," Rubin reported.
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