Potential ethical violations were uncovered involving Allison Greenfield, the top clerk for New York Justice Arthur Engoron. It appears she may have violated judicial rules that prohibit officers of the court from making excessive political donations.
Moreover, it appears that Justice Engoron was informed of these violations in a comprehensive 72-page complaint sent to his court via email on the same day he issued a gag order against former President Donald Trump in their ongoing case. Engoron has subsequently fined Trump $15,000 for allegedly violating this gag order.
The evidence against Greenfield, as outlined in the complaint filed by a third party named Brock Fredin, who runs a Twitter account called @JudicialProtest, is extensive. This complaint, usually confidential, was made public by the complainant. Throughout the document, it details significant political involvement by Greenfield, who serves as the principal law clerk for Justice Engoron.
“My name is Brock Fredin and I operate the Twitter account @JudicialProtest,” Fredin wrote in the Oct. 3, 2023, complaint sent to Engoron. “I write with respect to the blatantly unethical and partisan conduct of Your Honor’s Principal Law Clerk Allison Greenfield, the Court’s ‘Gag Order’ issued today concerning President Trump’s retweeting of my tweet about Ms. Greenfield and Senator Chuck Schumer taken at a Chelsea Reform Democrat Club brunch and the overly apparent appearance of impropriety in the above-referenced matter with respect to Ms. Greenfield’s repeated partisan political and Democrat activities while employed as a law clerk. Given that President Trump’s post at-issue today was a re-tweet of my original tweet on the @JudicialProtest account, the Court’s order directing President Trump to remove it is a direct attack on my First Amendment rights (as well as President Trump’s), particularly since the Court asserted on the record that my tweet was a ‘personal attack’ on Ms. Greenfield rather than a post exposing and criticizing the misconduct of a public official. I am consequently an interested party and submit this letter as such. To be clear, though, this letter and its contents are not a ‘personal attack’ on Ms. Greenfield. Rather, this letter contains receipts and raises serious ethical violations as to her political speech and activities involving the Democrat Party while employed as your law clerk that undoubtedly create an appearance of impropriety in People v. Trump et al.”
She is seen as having close relationships with prominent New York Democrats, such as Senator Chuck Schumer and former Rep. Carolyn Maloney. The complaint also highlights her active role as a Democratic Party organizer, involved in canvassing for party officials and supporting Democratic candidates.
What’s more concerning is that Greenfield appears to have exceeded the allowable limit for political donations by court officials in New York, which is $500 in aggregate per calendar year. Records indicate that she exceeded this limit in 2022 and 2023. Greenfield contributed several thousand dollars to various Democratic candidates and causes, far beyond the legally permitted amount.
New York ethics rules prohibit:
…contributing, directly or indirectly, money or other valuable consideration in amounts exceeding $500 in the aggregate during any calendar year to all political campaigns for political office, and other partisan political activity including, but not limited to, the purchasing of tickets to political functions, except that this $500 limitation shall not apply to an appointee’s contributions to his or her own campaign. Where an appointee is a candidate for judicial office, reference also shall be made to appropriate sections of the Election Law.
In 2022, she donated over $3,335 to Democratic candidates and causes, while in 2023, her contributions totaled more than $1,001—both figures significantly surpassing the annual limit for court officials.
The judge in this case, Justice Engoron, has not publicly acknowledged the complaint against Greenfield or its potential implications. As the trial unfolds, Engoron has consistently sided with Greenfield, even in the face of criticism from Trump’s legal team. They have accused her of having improper influence over the judge and have raised concerns about her involvement in the proceedings.
The judge accused one Trump lawyer of “misogyny,” according to the Times, for raising questions about Greenfield.
“Justice Arthur Engoron is taking Christopher M. Kise, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, to task for disparaging his law clerk, Allison Greenfield. The judge says he thinks it may be a problem of misogyny and asks Kise not to mention his court staff again,” the New York Times’s Jonah Bromwich reported from the court. Kate Christobek, another Times reporter, added that Engoron threatened on Thursday to extend the gag order against Trump to his attorneys as well if they kept raising questions about Greenfield.
“Alina Habba, another of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, is now also complaining about Greenfield having improper influence on the judge, talking to him during proceedings. Habba says Greenfield’s conduct is a part of the record and the case. ‘I’m not going to stand by and allow it to happen,’ Habba says, asserting that because she is a woman, she is no misogynist,” Bromwich added in another Thursday update.
The future repercussions of these alleged ethical violations by Greenfield remain uncertain, as Justice Engoron continues to support her and the trial progresses.
