Donald Trump Fined $10,000 For Violating Gag Order Second Time In Civil Fraud Case

Former US President Donald Trump was called to the witness stand and fined $10,000 on Wednesday after a New York judge overseeing his civil fraud trial observed that he again violated a gag order barring him from disparaging court staff.

Former US President Donald Trump

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Former US President Donald Trump was called to the witness stand and fined $10,000 on Wednesday after a New York judge overseeing his civil fraud trial observed that he again violated a gag order barring him from disparaging court staff. Justice Arthur Engoron had imposed the gag order on Trump on October 3 after he shared a photo of the judge's top clerk posing with US Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and falsely called her Schumer's "girlfriend" on a social media platform. It was the second time in less than a week that Trump was penalized for his out-of-court comments. He 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."

Justice Engoron, surmising that Trump was referencing his clerk, called these comments a "blatant" gag order violation, news agency Reuters reported.

Prior to him being awarded the fine, Trump briefly took the witness stand and told Justice Engoron that he was referring to "you and Cohen" during his remarks, as reported by Reuters. The Judge rejected this argument that the 'partisan' person that Trump mentioned was Cohen. Engoron said, "The idea that that statement would refer to the witness, that doesn't make sense to me. Don't do it again or it will be worse."

After being awarded the fine, Trump walked out of the courtroom.

Three of Trump's attorneys objected to the USD 10,000 fine and they reiterated Trump's claim that the clerk was biased.

Earlier on October 20, the New York judge fined Trump $5,000 after observing that he had not taken down a post that was disparaging the clerk. The judge warned that future transgressions could bring "far more severe" sanctions including jail.

Former US President Donald Trump once again hopes to contest in the coming 2024 elections against the current US President Joe Biden.