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Donald Trump has been ordered to pay a $9,000 fine for repeated breaches of a gag order at the New York hush money trial — and a Manhattan judge threatened to throw the former president behind bars for further infractions.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan at the start of trial Tuesday morning issued the fine to Trump, citing nine violations of his order issued before trial, barring the ex-commander-in-chief from disparaging witnesses and jurors.
Merchan agreed with prosecutors that Trump had infringed on the gag in seven posts on Truth Social and in two statements on his campaign site beginning just days before trial kicked off with jury selection on April 15.
The judge ordered the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to remove all nine statements by 2:15 p.m Tuesday.
In two orders from March and April, Merchan ruled the former president, 77, can’t disparage jurors or witnesses in the criminal case — or go after family of court staff, including his own relatives and those of District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump is still allowed to rip Bragg or Judge Merchan as much as he’d like.
“This court’s expanded order is lawful and unambiguous,” Merchan’s decision from Tuesday reads. “Defendant violated the order by making social media posts about known witnesses pertaining to their participation in this criminal proceeding and by making public statements about jurors in this criminal proceeding.”
On Thursday morning, there will be a hearing on the issue of gag order breaches to determine if the real estate tycoon should be fined even more.
Prior to issuing the fine, Merchan told Trump that he can attend his son Barron’s graduation on May 17.
The former president had been accused of violating the order 11 times by the prosecution for talking about those associated with the trial — including anticipated star witness Michael Cohen and likely witness Stormy Daniels.
His lawyers had pushed back, claiming the things Trump said were in defense of political attacks made against him.
But the Tuesday ruling said Trump was taking advantage of this argument.
His lawyers had pushed back, claiming the things Trump said were in defense of political attacks made against him.
“To allow such attacks upon protected witnesses with blanket assertions that they are all responses to ‘political attacks’ would be an exception that swallowed the rule,” the jurist wrote.
Still, one of the posts the DA’s office claimed was a violation of the gag, Merchan said, gave him “pause” and didn’t ultimately include in the list of breaches, finding it may have been a legitimate response to a political attack.
Trump has repeatedly slammed Cohen — his one time “fixer and lawyer — and Daniels in public comments and social media posts — as recently as on April 17.
Cohen has also made comments about Trump on X, but is not subject to the court’s gag order, so will not face reprimand.
Trump also — in what prosecutors called his most “disturbing post” — reposted a quote from a Fox News host which said “they are catching undercover liberal activists lying to the judge” in order to get on the jury.
The jury is meant to be anonymous, but several prospective panelists during jury selection said they were worried about their identities being exposed.
Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.