Trump Fined $5,000 For Violating Gag Order In Fraud Trial

Topline

A New York state judge fined former President Donald Trump $5,000 for violating a gag order in his ongoing civil trial for alleged fraud—though the judge had earlier threatened jail time—marking the first consequences Trump has faced for his speech in the legal cases against him as multiple judges impose gag orders on him.

Former President Donald Trump speaks—and speaks—during the first day of his civil fraud trial at New … [+] York State Supreme Court on October 2 in New York City.

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Key Facts

Judge Arthur Engoron levied the $5,000 fine on Trump after imposing a gag order on October 3 that barred the ex-president and other parties from publicly speaking about court staff, after Trump made a disparaging post about Engoron’s clerk.

Trump deleted the post on Truth Social on October 3, hours after it was posted and right before the gag order was imposed, but the post stayed up on Trump’s campaign website until Thursday, when it was first reported on social media.

Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise apologized after Engoron complained about the post at the start of the trial Friday, with the attorney arguing the post being left up had been an “inadvertent” mistake.

Engoron said in a written order that the “effect of the post on its subject is unmitigated” by the reasons why the post was left up on the website, and after giving Trump “ample warning” about what would happen if he violated the gag order, “issuing yet another warning is no longer appropriate; this Court is way beyond the ‘warning’ stage.”

Though Engoron suggested at the trial Friday that the “blatant violation” of his order could result in more severe sanctions against Trump—including “possibly imprisoning him”—the judge said in his written order that he would only impose a “nominal” fine, given that attorneys’ position that it was a mistake and the fact it is a “first time violation.”

The judge suggested Trump could still face “far more severe sanctions” if he ever violates the gag order again—whether “intentional[ly] or unintentional[ly]”—which Engoron said could include “steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him.”

Crucial Quote

“In the current overheated climate, incendiary untruths can, and in some cases already have, led to serious physical harm, and worse,” Engoron wrote.

What To Watch For

The ongoing trial, which will determine whether Trump and his business associates committed fraud by misstating valuations of their assets on financial statements for personal gain, is scheduled to run through mid-December. Trump is expected to testify at the trial, though it is still unclear when. If found liable at trial, Engoron could impose penalties on Trump and his associates, including his sons, such as a $250 million fine and barring the ex-president from running any New York companies or making commercial real estate acquisitions.

Tangent

Engoron’s gag order is one of two that Trump now faces in the ongoing cases against him. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who’s overseeing the federal criminal case over Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, imposed a separate gag order in that case on Monday, which bars Trump and other parties from making statements that target prosecutors, defense counsel, court staff or potential witnesses in the case. Chutkan has not said specifically what punishments Trump could face should he violate that order.

Key Background

The $5,000 fine is the latest in a series of orders that Engoron has imposed against Trump as the New York Attorney General’s fraud case has moved forward, leading Trump to frequently lash out against the judge on social media and in public statements. Engoron previously held Trump in contempt and forced him to pay $110,000 in fines last year even before Attorney General Letitia James formally sued the ex-president and his associates in November, after Trump refused to comply with a subpoena for documents. The judge then issued a summary judgment ruling before the case went to trial, which found Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud for misstating the value of assets on financial documents. (The trial is moving forward on other allegations, including whether the fraud was intentional.) Engoron ordered Trump’s business certificates to be canceled as part of that ruling—which could dismantle his company’s operations, at least in New York—though an appeals court put that order on hold.