Former President Donald Trump has been fined $5,000 by a New York judge for violating a gag order in a civil fraud trial brought by the state attorney general. The judge also warned Trump that he could face jail time for any further violations.
The judge, Arthur Engoron, issued the fine on Friday after finding that Trump had failed to remove a statement from his website that attacked the judge’s principal law clerk. The statement, which was posted on October 3, claimed that the law clerk was “running this case” and was “Schumer’s girlfriend”. The statement was false and inflammatory, according to the judge.
The judge said that Trump’s statement violated a gag order he had imposed on October 3, which barred Trump from making any public comments about the case or the court staff. The gag order was issued after Trump used his Truth Social platform to post the same statement, which he later deleted.
The judge said that Trump’s statement on his website remained online for 17 days, despite the gag order and a direct order from the judge to remove it. The statement was only removed on Thursday night, after the judge sent an email to Trump’s lawyers.
The judge said that Trump’s violation of the gag order was “inadvertent”, but still unacceptable. He said that Trump’s statement could have endangered the safety of the court staff and prejudiced the jury pool.
“Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include, but are not limited to, steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him,” the judge wrote.
The civil fraud trial stems from a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2019. The lawsuit alleges that Trump and his family business engaged in a decade-long scheme to inflate their net worth and assets to obtain loans and tax benefits. The lawsuit seeks $250 million in damages and penalties.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has accused James of conducting a political witch hunt against him. His lawyers have argued that his valuations were based on his business acumen and market conditions.
The trial is expected to resume on Monday.
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