Donald Trump was fined $10,000 on Wednesday after the New York judge overseeing his civil fraud trial said the former U.S. president violated a gag order for a second time.

Justice Arthur Engoron on Oct. 3 barred Trump from disparaging court staff after Trump shared on social media a photo of the judge’s top clerk posing with U.S. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and falsely called her Schumer’s “girlfriend.”

During a trial break on Wednesday in the civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James concerning Trump’s business practices, Trump told reporters, “This judge is a very partisan judge, with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”

Engoron, surmising that Trump was referring to his clerk, called the comments a “blatant” violation of the gag order. The judge imposed the fine after Trump briefly took the witness stand to take questions.

  • fiat_lux@kbin.social
    21·
    1 year ago

    My hope is that Engoron is baiting him to say/do more egregious things to really justify a proper sentence, because he knows Trump will keep pushing the envelope. But Occam’s Razor suggests he might just be cowardly.

    Come on Engoron, defy the razor. Show us all what you got.