Attorneys for Donald Trump have filed an emergency application for a stay of the limited gag order issued by last month Judge Engoron, asking that an appeals court annul and vacate the gag order and fines imposed against him.

Trump has been fined on two occasions, for a total of $15,000, after making statements referencing the judge's clerk, and the judge recently extended the gag order to apply to lawyers in the case.

Trump's lawyers argue that the gag order is an unconstitutional violation of Trump's freedom of speech, which they say Engoron has used as a "unfettered license to inflict public punishments on a defendant for the defendant's out-of-court statements."

"As applied to President Trump, it also prevents a presidential candidate from commenting on the public conduct and possible ethical violations of a critical member of Justice Engoron's chambers," Trump's lawyers wrote.

Engoron has said the gag order is meant to protect his staff from violence, noting that his chambers has received hundreds of threatening phone calls, messages, and packages over the course of the trial. While Trump's lawyers described Engoron's desire to protect his staff as "understandable," they argue the gag order is too broad a "curtailment of plainly protected speech in a trial playing out on a national and international stage."

An attorney for the New York attorney general responded to the filing by describing the gag order as the least restrictive means available to protect Engoron's staff.

"The First Amendment does not prohibit courts from restricting speech that threatens the safety of the court's staff or frustrates the orderly progression of a trial," the attorney general responded in a letter to the appeals court.

In a moment of levity during a break between witnesses, Judge Arthur Engoron noted that Trump attorney Chris Kise has not yet led the questioning of any witnesses.

"How come you don't get the pleasure of questioning people?" Engoron asked.

"There's still time left," Kise responded, saying that he prefers to coach his team from the sideline like famed New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick or Jimbo Fisher.

Fisher received a record buyout after being fired as coach of Texas A&M this week.

"I'd like to be fired from my job and collecting $77 million," Kise quipped.

"I'll see if I can arrange that," Engoron joked.

Steven Collins, an expert in contract procurement, testified that the federal government's General Services Administration -- which reviewed Donald Trump's proposal to renovate the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C. -- identified issues in Donald Trump's statement of financial condition.

"Financial statements provided by Mr. Trump was qualified by his accountants as not complying with GAAP" or generally accepted accounting principles, a GSA document entered into evidence said about a "notable weakness" of Trump's proposal.

However, said Collins, Trump's financial capability as reflected in the statements comprised no more than 15% of the evaluation factors considered by the GSA, which more heavily weighed Trump's site plan and financial offer in ultimately deciding to award Trump the contract.

Collins testified for roughly an hour for the defense and faced no questions during cross-examination.

State attorney Kevin Wallace, in his redirect examination of the defense's expert witness Jason Flemmons, asked the accounting expert a single question.

"When you were at the Securities and Exchange Commission, did you ever encounter issuers facing allegations of fraud [try] to throw their accountants under the bus?" Wallace asked, in an apparent jab at the defense's contention that the responsibility for Donald Trump's financial statements lies with his accountants.

Trump's lawyers quickly objected to the question. Judge Engoron, visibly smirking, sustained the objection.

Earlier, when asked by Judge Engoron about his compensation for serving as an expert witness, Flemmons said he was unable to estimate the total amount but that his hourly rate was $925 per hour. Michiel McCarty, who testified as an expert witness for the state, testified earlier this month that he charged a similar rate.