White powder sent to judge in Donald Trump’s civil fraud case, adding to wave of security scares

White powder was found on Wednesday in an envelope addressed to the New York judge who ordered Donald Trump to pay a USD 454 million civil fraud judgment.

It’s the latest security scare involving people in key roles in the former president’s legal cases.

A court officer screening mail at Judge Arthur Engoron’s Manhattan courthouse opened the envelope around 9:30 a.m. Some of the powder fell out of the envelope and landed on the officer’s pants, police said.

Preliminary tests were negative for hazardous substances, court spokesperson Al Baker said.

The courthouse operations office where the mail was opened was briefly closed, but the courthouse remained open. The officer and other workers who may have been exposed to the powder were temporarily isolated, Baker said. No injuries were reported.

Engoron had no exposure to the letter or the powdery substance, Baker said.

Wednesday’s scare came less than two weeks after Engoron issued his verdict penalising Trump, his company and executives, including his two sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., for scheming to dupe banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals.

Along with staggering financial penalties, the judge’s ruling forced a shakeup at the top of Trump’s company, putting the Trump Organisation under court supervision and imposing strict restrictions on how it does business.