Former President Donald Trump was recently fined $5,000 by a New York judge for breaking a gag order forbidding him from discussing court staff members. The judge, Arthur Engoron, warned Trump twice about potential imprisonment. Engoron stated in his order that Trump had been adequately warned about the consequences of violating the gag order and had agreed to comply with it. The partial gag order was issued on October 3, after Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, attacking Engoron’s clerk. The post alleged that she was in a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and included a photo of them together. Although the post was removed from Truth Social following the gag order, it remained on Trump’s campaign website, DonaldJTrump.com. In court, Engoron reprimanded Trump’s attorneys for blatantly violating the gag order and expressed that further violations could result in imprisonment. Trump’s attorney, Chris Kise, apologized to Engoron, claiming that the post’s presence on a “back page” of the campaign website was inadvertent. Kise assured the judge that Trump had ordered the post to be taken down. Engoron stated that he would consider the situation and emphasized that Trump remained responsible for his campaign’s actions. The judge warned that spreading incendiary falsehoods in the current climate could lead to serious harm. The judge’s order reiterated the severe consequences that future violations would entail, such as larger financial penalties, holding Trump in contempt of court, or potentially imprisoning him. Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter, is attempting to block a subpoena for her testimony by arguing that she is outside the court’s jurisdiction and is not a party to the case. Ivanka was initially a defendant in the lawsuit but was dismissed from the case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for the following week.
Trump Fraud Trial Judge Warns of Potential Imprisonment for Violating Gag Order
