U.S. Court slams $10,000 fine on Trump for violating gag order

U.S. Court slams $10,000 fine on Trump for violating gag order

In a New York courtroom, former US President Donald Trump faced a $10,000 fine on Wednesday as presiding Judge Arthur Engoron penalized him for violating an order that prohibited criticism of court staff.

This marked the second fine levied against Trump, with the latest penalty coming after comments he made to reporters during a trial break were deemed to breach a partial gag order issued just three weeks ago.

The original gag order was instituted on October 3 when Trump disparaged the judge’s chief law clerk on his Truth Social platform. Although the contentious post was deleted from Truth Social, Trump was fined $5,000 the previous week for not promptly removing it from his 2024 presidential campaign website.

The recent fine stemmed from Trump’s remark that Judge Engoron is a “very partisan judge with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”

Trump’s legal team contended that the former president was referencing Michael Cohen, a witness who formerly served as Trump’s lawyer but has since become a vocal adversary. They argued that Trump was not targeting the judge’s clerk, who is seated near him in the courtroom.

In response, the judge briefly summoned Trump to the witness stand for an explanation, during which Trump reiterated that he was indeed referring to Cohen.

Subsequently, the judge declared Trump to be lacking in credibility and imposed the fine. Trump left the courtroom abruptly after the judgment.

Donald Trump, a frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, along with his two eldest sons, faces allegations of artificially inflating the value of Trump Organization’s real estate assets to secure more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.

Despite his frequent attacks on Judge Engoron, whom he has labeled a “Trump-hating judge,” the gag order issued on October 3 specifically prohibited any attacks on court staff.

The federal judge set to preside over Trump’s trial in March for alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election also implemented a partial gag order on the former president. This order was temporarily lifted to allow Trump’s legal team to submit their objections.