Overview

• Former President Donald Trump has been sharing posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, claiming that a man attending his civil fraud trial is the son of the presiding judge, Justice Arthur Engoron, and is financially benefiting from the trial.
• The man in question has been identified as Ben Kochman, a New York Post reporter covering the trial, not the judge's son.
• Trump's posts were based on an article by far-right activist Laura Loomer, and were shared by disgraced former Congressman George Santos, who called for an investigation into the alleged misconduct.
• Trump has previously been fined for violating a gag order by posting disparaging comments about a court staffer.
• The civil fraud trial, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses Trump and the Trump Organization of inflating their assets to secure favorable bank loans.