In New York trial, Trump held in contempt of court for violating a gag order

The former US president has been found in contempt of court by the judge in his New York hush money trial for persistently breaking a gag order.

The injunction forbade Trump from making public remarks or sharing images of the trial’s participants on social media.

On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan declared that Trump had broken the order nine times. He punished Trump $1,000 for each infraction; since nine of his remarks were found to have violated the directive, the total fine was $9,000.

At a hearing on Thursday, Merchan could make additional decisions based on the 14 potential infractions that the prosecution had presented to the court.

Additionally, by Tuesday afternoon, the judge mandated that Trump take down two articles from his campaign website and seven “offending posts” from his Truth Social account.

He went on, saying that Trump was “hereby warned that the court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that it will impose an incarceratory punishment if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances.”

The choice was made as the third week of Trump’s criminal trial got underway, with witness testimony starting on Tuesday.

The former president is accused of 34 felonies of manipulating company documents in connection with the purported payment of hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who maintains that she had a sexual encounter with Trump.

Daniels is linked to several gag order violations, as is Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney. At the trial, both are anticipated to testify.

Not only is it forbidden for Trump to disparage witnesses, but also jurors, court employees, and their families.

Following former tabloid publisher David Pecker’s multi-day evidence last week, the decision was made at the beginning of the second week of witness testimony.

Pecker claimed that he and Trump made a deal for him to serve as the “eyes and ears” of the latter’s 2016 presidential campaign. In his testimony, he further stated that he worked with Cohen to suppress unfavorable reports about Trump before the election.

The allegations against Trump center on the $130,000 he is said to have paid back to Cohen after Daniels was compensated by the attorney for keeping quiet.

Trump has refuted reports that he had sex with Daniels. According to his attorneys, he was behaving legally.

Prosecutors must persuade the jury that Trump fabricated documents in order to forward his criminal charges in order for the felonies to be upheld. They contend that unlawful attempts to sway the 2016 election—which he ultimately defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in—were among the crimes committed.

As of the now, Trump is the Republican Party’s presumed nominee for president in 2024. One of the four criminal indictments that Trump is currently facing is the basis for the New York trial. Trial procedures for the remaining three are still pending.

No matter the outcome, the proceedings are historic: Trump is the first current or former US president to face criminal prosecution.