Judge lifts gag order that barred Donald Trump from maligning court staff

Former US president Donald Trump (Lynne Sladky/AP)

A New York appeals court judge on Thursday paused a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting on court staff in his civil fraud trial.

The trial judge had imposed the gag order last month and later fined Trump 15,000 dollars (£12,000) for violations after the former president made a disparaging social media post about a court clerk.