A New York state judge has fined former president Donald Trump $5,000 for violating a gag order in his civil fraud trial and threatened possible jail time for any future violations.
Judge Arthur Engoron issued the nominal fee Friday after warning Trump earlier this month of making “disparaging” comments about a court clerk on social media. The gag order was put into place on October 3 after the former president was ordered to remove a Truth Social post, in which he claimed the judge’s principal law clerk is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D., N.Y.) girlfriend and that she was “running this case against” him.
“In the current overheated climate, incendiary untruths can, and in some cases already have, led to serious physical harm, and worse,” Engoron wrote in the latest court order.
The $5,000 fine marks the first time Trump has received a formal punishment for violating a gag order.
Trump complied in taking down the initial post on his Truth Social platform but inadvertently, according to the defense, kept a version of it on his campaign website until Thursday night when Engoron discovered it. The post, which remained on DonaldJTrump.com “for the past 17 days,” was removed “only in response to an email from this Court,” Engoron noted.
Trump is currently in court for a $250 million civil trial over a lawsuit filed by New York attorney general Letitia James, who has accused Trump of fraudulently inflating his assets to grow his business empire.
When the trial began earlier this month, the presidential hopeful claimed the legal battle was nothing but a politically motivated “scam” designed to keep him occupied while running in the 2024 election.
On Monday, Trump received a gag order pertaining to his election-subversion case in Washington, D.C. Federal district judge Tanya Chutkan forbade Trump from verbally attacking witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff members involved in the case. Chutkan temporarily lifted that order on Friday, giving the defense time to prove why Trump’s speech should not be restricted ahead of the trial.
Engoron, rather than issue Trump another warning, said he will pursue punitive action if another violation occurs. “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.”