Former U.S. President Donald Trump has been fined $10,000 for the second time by the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial after violating a gag order.
Gatekeepers News reports that last week, Justice Arthur Engoron fined Trump $5,000 for failing to remove a post disparaging the judge’s law clerk. The judge had earlier barred Trump from making comments that attacked court staff.
According to Reuters, On the recent violation, Trump told reporters during a trial break that the judge was “very partisan” and had a “partisan” person sitting alongside him, which the judge deemed a “blatant” violation of the gag order. The fine was imposed after Trump briefly took the witness stand.
Trump’s lawyer ,Christopher Kise argued that the “partisan” person referred to was not the judge’s clerk but Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer testifying against him.
Engoron refused to reconsider the fine and warned Trump against further violations, noting that they could result in more severe sanctions, potentially including jail time.
“The idea that that statement would refer to the witness, that doesn’t make sense to me,” Engoron said.
“Don’t do it again or it will be worse.”
This case revolves around allegations that Trump’s family business unlawfully manipulated its financials to deceive lenders and insurers, particularly regarding the value of its real estate assets.
