Donald Trump has been fined $9,000 for nine violations of a gag order in his New York criminal trial, with the presiding judge warning that further breaches could lead to jail time. Judge Juan Merchan imposed the maximum financial penalty allowed under state law, ruling that Trump had violated the order in nine out of ten instances alleged by prosecutors.
The order prohibits Trump from making public statements about trial participants, including witnesses like his former lawyer Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels. Merchan ordered Trump to remove the offending posts from Truth Social and his campaign website, and warned that continued willful violations would not be tolerated.
However, the judge also admonished Cohen, suggesting he might be exempted from the gag order if he deliberately provokes Trump on social media. Merchan noted that the purpose of the order is to protect trial integrity, and if a protected party undermines that, they may not need protection.
Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche had argued that most posts were responses to political attacks or reposts of media articles. But Merchan appeared skeptical, pointing out that Trump had manipulated a quote from Fox News host Jesse Watters by adding his own words and using quotation marks.
The judge is scheduled to hear further arguments on Thursday regarding additional alleged violations since the initial list. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to Daniels, allegedly to protect his 2016 campaign.
