Judge Slaps Trump With Fine for Violating Gag Order in Fraud Case
Former President Donald Trump received a $5,000 fine on Friday for violating the gag order put in place by Judge Arthur Engoron to protect his staff and his courtroom’s proceedings.
Trump is currently on trial in New York City to determine the penalties related to New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil suit against Trump, his company, and his adult sons. James alleges that Trump committed fraud by falsely inflating his assets for well over a decade. Engoron has already found Trump liable for the fraud in a summary ruling and the trial is ongoing to determine penalties.
James is seeking a $250 million fine and to bar Trump and his sons from doing business in the state of New York, which would effectively dissolve his company and force the sale of several of his highly indebted assets.
“Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions,” Engoron wrote in a court filing.
While Trump quickly deleted his original Truth Social post attacking the judge’s law clerk, which included naming her and posting a link to her personal Instagram account, Engoron fined Trump for the post remaining visible on his campaign website for two weeks after he had banned Trump from making such comments.
Trump’s targeting of judges, prosecutors, and other involved in his ongoing legal cases have stirred intense debate and controversy as in most legal proceedings defendants are explicitly barred from publicly intimidating officers of the court. In his DC federal elections case, Trump is also now under a partial gag order, barring him from further attacks on prosecutors or attempting to intimidate potential witnesses.
