Staffer trying to ‘help’ Trump removed
A New York state court employee was arrested Wednesday after she tried to approach former President Donald Trump — saying she wanted to help him — during his civil fraud trial in lower Manhattan, officials said.
The woman, identified by cops as Jenny Hannigan, was charged with contempt of court for disrupting the proceedings in Manhattan Supreme Court just before noon “by standing up and walking towards the front of the courtroom yelling out to Mr. Trump,” Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen said.
A Post reporter inside the courtroom at the time did not hear Hannigan yell, but she was caught talking loudly in the hallway after being escorted out.
Hannigan, 37, of Baldwin, LI, is a secretary for a judge in Queens, according to a courthouse source. No one answered a phone number at an address listed for her there.
Hannigan, wearing a black dress and matching blazer, was stopped by court officers before she could get near Trump, 77, and his attorneys — who were seated at the defense table, Chalfen said.
“None of the parties were ever in any danger,” he said.
When the ex-president left court for the day at around 3:30 p.m., he said he didn’t know about the woman’s arrest — or the apparent commotion she caused.
“Who got arrested? We didn’t know anything about it,” he told reporters.
Hannigan was first asked to take a seat in the Manhattan Supreme Courtroom gallery before an officer asked to speak with her outside the room around 11:45 a. m.
She entered the media-packed hallway — speaking loudly and saying she was scared — as a group of officers surrounded her, asking her to lower her voice.
After escorting Hannigan downstairs to the first floor, officers cuffed her as she yelled “Help me!” “Save me!” for several minutes, according to a courthouse source.
Meanwhile, inside the courtCentre room at 60 St., testimony by Doug Larson, a real estate appraiser, continued without any major interruption while the drama unfolded outwas side.
Hannigan charged with one count of second-degree contempt of court for disprorupting the ceeding and was given a desk appearance ticket.
She was placed on administrative leave and barred from state courts buildings pending an investigation of the incident, Chalfen said. Earlier, Trump had appeared agitated during Larson’s testimony — seen muttering to his lawyers, shaking his head and gesturing as the outside appraiser was grilled by his attorneys.
Trump’s behavior prompted Kevin Wallace, a lawyer in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, to object, saying: “Can the defendant please stop commenting during the witness’ testimony?”
Justice Arthur Engoron, who is deciding the case, rather than a jury, issued a broad warning to anyone in the courtroom, including Trump and others, to keep quiet, “particularly if it’s meant to influence the testimony” of a witness. Trump’s lawyers later asserted that Larson had lied on the stand, and Larson was eventually told to leave the room as the attorneys and the judge discussed the claim.
The perjury claim stemmed from the question of whether Larson had worked with Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney, a co-defendant in the case, to value Trump’s properties in 2013.
While questioning Larson, Trump attorney Lazaro Fields accused him of testifying on Tuesday that he hadn’t worked with McConney — while producing an email of Larson communicating with McConney at around that time.
“You lied, Mr. Larson, didn’t you?” Fields said, raising his voice.
“I did not. That’s what I recall,” Larson responded.
Trump lawyer Chris Kise then stood up and interjected that Larson should be advised of his Fifth Amendment right against incriminating himself, drawing audible groans from the lawyers at the AG’s table.
“He perjured himself yesterday, in my opinion,” Kise said, while the AG’s office accused the former president’s legal team of amping up the theatrics for the assembled media.
“This is a performance for the press sitting behind us, and not a real legal issue,” Wallace said after a court officer escorted Larson out of the room.
After a few minutes, Engoron ordered Larson to retake the stand — suggesting that “I don’t see an inconsistency” in his testimony.
“My role here is to get witnesses to testify,” Engoron said.