Donald Trump Fined $10,000 For Second Gag Order Violation In Civil Fraud Case1 min read

NEW YORK, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Donald Trump was fined $10,000 on Wednesday after the New York judge overseeing his civil fraud trial said the former U.S. president for a second time violated a gag order barring him from disparaging court staff.

Justice Arthur Engoron had imposed the order on Oct. 3 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 break on Wednesday in the case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James concerning Trump’s business practices, Trump told reporters in a hallway, “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 referencing his clerk, called the comments a “blatant” gag order violation.

Trump’s hallway remarks came as Michael Cohen, his onetime lawyer and fixer, testified for a second day against him.

Before being fined, Trump briefly took the witness stand and told Engoron he was referring to “you and Cohen” during his remarks. The judge rejected the idea, echoed by Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise, that the “partisan” person Trump mentioned was Cohen.

“The idea that that statement would refer to the witness, that doesn’t make sense to me,” Engoron said. “Don’t do it again or it will be worse.”