The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal bribery trial on Tuesday fined the former US president $9,000 for contempt of court and said he would consider jailing him if he continues to violate a court order. silence.
In a written order, Judge Juan Merchan said the fine may not be enough to deter the wealthy businessman-turned-politician and expressed regret that he did not have the authority to impose a greater penalty.
“The defendant is warned that the court will not tolerate willful violations of its lawful orders and that, if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose a punishment of incarceration,” Merchan wrote.
Merchan imposed the gag order to prevent Trump from criticizing witnesses and others involved in the case.
The judge fined Trump $1,000 for each of nine online statements that he said violated his order not to criticize witnesses or other participants in the trial. Prosecutors had flagged 10 posts as possible violations.
The posts, made between April 10 and 17, included an article calling his former lawyer Michael Cohen a “serial liar.” Cohen is expected to be a key witness in the trial.
Another post quoted a Fox News commentator who claimed that “disguised progressive activists” were trying to sneak into the jury pool. Merchan rejected Trump’s argument that he could not be held responsible for “reposts” of material he did not write himself.
Merchan will consider whether to impose additional penalties for other statements at a hearing on Thursday.
The judge also ordered Trump to remove the statements from his Truth Social account and his campaign website by 3:15 p.m. EDT.
When asked by reporters to comment on the fine during a break, Trump did not respond.
Trump has argued that the gag order violates his free speech rights, and his lawyer Todd Blanche told Merchan last week that the statements in question were responses to political attacks.
Merchan noted that Blanche was unable to provide any evidence that the expected witnesses had attacked Trump before he insulted them.
The $9,000 fine, which must be paid by Friday, is a relatively small penalty for Trump, who has already paid $266.6 million in bonds while he appeals civil judgments in two other cases.
The arrest, however, would be an unprecedented twist in the first criminal trial of a former US president.
It is unclear whether Trump would be sent to New York City’s Rikers Island prison or whether security concerns would require more lenient treatment, such as home confinement in his Trump Tower triplex.
Trump, the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, is accused of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied having sexual relations with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Banker Garry Farro, who is not accused of wrongdoing, testified on Tuesday that Cohen used a shell company to transfer the $130,000 payment to Daniels’ lawyer.
About two dozen Trump supporters gathered outside the courthouse Tuesday morning, chanting his name and waving banners reading “TRUMP 24.” A local Republican organization called on supporters to show up after Trump complained that few people were protesting the trial.
Trump is required to attend the trial and said he could instead be campaigning ahead of his rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 election.
The criminal case is one of four pending against Trump, but it could be the only one to go to trial and result in a verdict before the election.
Reuters – This publication, including information and data, is the intellectual property of Reuters. Its use or its name is expressly prohibited without prior authorization from Reuters. All rights reserved.
Tags: Judge fines Trump threatens hold contempt bribery trial
--
