Trump Fined $5,000 for Violating Gag Order
NEW YORK — The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial fined the former president $5,000 on Friday for violating a gag order that prohibits him from disparaging courthouse staff.
Judge Arthur Engoron issued a limited gag order on Trump earlier this month, after he posted an attack on the judge’s law clerk to Truth Social, the social media site Trump established after being booted off Twitter by its former owners.
Trump took down the post, but Engoron said on Friday that he discovered that the post was not removed from DonaldJTrump.com, Trump’s campaign website.
Clearly angered by his discovery, Engoron lashed intoTrump attorney Christopher Kise, asking why he shouldn’t impose a more serious sanction against the ex-president, including “possibly imprisoning him.”
Kise apologized and explained that the post on the campaign site was “truly inadvertent” and the result of the campaign website often replicating Trump’s posts.
The attorney went on to say there haven’t been any subsequent postings about the clerk or other court staff, and there wouldn’t be any more.
“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,” pursuant to New York state law, Engoron wrote in an order issued Friday afternoon.
Engoron went on to note that the post remained on the campaign website for 17 days before its discovery.
“In the current overheated climate, incendiary untruths can, and in some cases already have, led to serious physical harm, and worse,” the judge wrote.
He ordered the fine to be paid to New York Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection within the next 10 days.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
