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.

    • @SCB
      3•1 year ago

      I looked it up, and the penalty is imprisonment until the fine is paid. If the fine is never paid, it ticks down with time served (looks like double-digit dollars forgiven per day).