A New York judge on Tuesday fined former President Donald Trump for nine violations of a gag order against commenting about potential witnesses, jurors or certain court staff during the hush money trial.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan imposed a $1,000 penalty for each violation and will hold a hearing on four more alleged violations on Thursday.
Prosecutors had complained about Mr. Trump‘s musing on social media and comments near the courthouse, saying they violated the order designed to protect persons connected to the country’s first criminal trial of an ex-president.
Judge Merchan warned Mr. Trump that he would face jail time if he did not follow the gag order.
He said Mr. Trump “is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarcerator punishment.”
Judge Merchan said jail might be a “necessary punishment” because he is constrained to a fine of $1,000, which doesn’t mean much to wealthy individuals.
As if to soften the blow, the judge said he will not hold the trial on May 17 so Mr. Trump can attend his son Barron’s high school graduation. The judge had delayed a decision on whether Mr. Trump could go because he wanted to see how quickly the trial unfolded.
Mr. Trump‘s second-oldest son, Eric, attended court on Tuesday, marking the first time a family member showed up.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican and key Trump ally, also attended.
Mr. Trump complained about Judge Merchan on the way into court Tuesday, repeating his belief the jurist sides with Democrats.
“This is a hoax. This is a judge who’s conflicted. Badly, badly, badly conflicted. I’ve never seen a judge so conflicted, and giving us virtually no rulings,” Mr. Trump said.
The trial is resuming Tuesday with testimony from Gary Farro, a banker who worked with Mr. Trump‘s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, near the 2016 election.
Prosecutors say Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen concealed hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels through a series of checks and business entries that misled banks and showed intent to commit election and tax crimes. Mr. Trump denies having a sexual encounter with Ms. Daniels in 2006, as she alleges.
Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and says the case is a political effort to thwart his presidential campaign. He is stuck in the Manhattan courtroom, four days per week, while he campaigns for president as the presumptive GOP nominee.
The former president said he met with a key primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, over the weekend and appreciated the governor’s support heading into November.
Mr. Trump plans to hold rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan at midweek because the trial is not being held on Wednesdays.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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