A New York judge clamped down on former President Donald Trump Tuesday, fining him $9,000 and threatening him with jail time for violations of the gag order he imposed in the presumptive Republican nominee’s hush-money trial.
A New York judge clamped down on former President Donald Trump on Tuesday by fining him $9,000 and threatening him with jail time for violations of the gag order he imposed in the presumptive Republican nominee’s hush money trial.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan levied a $1,000 penalty for each of nine violations and will hold a hearing on four more alleged violations on Thursday, injecting drama and tension into the trial as it entered its second week.
Prosecutors complained about Mr. Trump’s comments on the nature of the jury pool and witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels. They said his observations violated the order designed to protect witnesses, jurors and court staff connected with the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
Judge Merchan, bemoaning that $9,000 doesn’t mean much to wealthy defendants, warned Mr. Trump that he could go to jail if he did not comply with the gag order.
“Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment,” the judge said.
The order appeared to have an immediate impact. During the lunch break, Mr. Trump removed some offending posts from his Truth Social account. He also fundraised from the decision.
“A Democrat judge JUST HELD ME IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!” his campaign said in an email before the trial’s lunch break. “THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME! They think they can BLEED ME DRY and SHUT ME UP, but I’ll NEVER stop fighting for YOU.”
Mr. Trump plans to hold campaign rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan at midweek because proceedings are not held on Wednesdays.
Prosecutors say Mr. Trump and his then-attorney, Mr. Cohen, concealed 2016 hush payments to adult-film actress Ms. Daniels through a series of checks and business entries that misled banks and showed intent to commit election and tax crimes. Mr. Trump denies having a sexual encounter with Ms. Daniels in 2006, as she claims.
Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
