Judge holds Trump in contempt, fines him $9,000 and raises threat of jail in hush money trial
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. Trump stared down at the table in front of him as the judge read the ruling, frowning slightly.
It was a stinging rebuke of the Republican former president鈥檚 insistence that he was exercising his free speech rights and a reminder that he鈥檚 a criminal defendant subject to the harsh realities of trial procedure. And the judge鈥檚 remarkable threat to jail a former president signaled that Trump鈥檚 already precarious legal standing could further spiral depending on his behavior during the remainder of the trial.
Trump did not respond to reporters鈥� shouted inquiries about the fine in the courthouse hallway as court resumed for the afternoon.
Merchan wrote that he is 鈥渒eenly aware of, and protective of,鈥� Trump鈥檚 First Amendment rights, 鈥減articularly given his candidacy for the office of President of the United States.鈥�
鈥淚t is critically important that defendant鈥檚 legitimate free speech rights not be curtailed, that he be able to fully campaign for the office which he seeks and that he be able to respond and defend himself against political attacks,鈥� Merchan wrote.
Still, he warned that the court would not tolerate "willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.鈥�
With that statement, the judge drew nearer the specter of Trump becoming the first former president of the United States behind bars.
Trump is used to having constant access to his social media bullhorn to slam opponents and speak his mind. After he was banned from Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters, Trump launched his own platform, where his posts wouldn鈥檛 be blocked or restricted. And he has long tried to distance himself from controversial messages he鈥檚 amplified to his millions of followers by insisting they鈥檙e 鈥渙nly retweets.鈥�
But he does have experience with gag orders, which were also imposed in his civil fraud trial. After he was found to have violated those orders, he paid more than $15,000 in fines.
Tuesday's ruling came at the start of the second week of testimony in the historic case, in which Manhattan prosecutors argue Trump and his associates took part in an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by purchasing and then burying seamy stories. The payouts went to a doorman with a torrid yarn; former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who had accusations of an affair; and to porn performer Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump. He has pleaded not guilty and says the stories are all fake.
Trump was ordered to pay the gag-order fine by the close of business Friday, and he deleted, as ordered, the offending posts from his Truth Social account and campaign website Tuesday. The judge was also weighing other alleged gag-order violations by Trump and will hear arguments Thursday. He also announced that he will halt the trial on May 17 to allow Trump to attend his son Barron's high school graduation.
Of the 10 posts, the one Merchan ruled was not a violation came on April 10, a post referring to witnesses Michael Cohen and Daniels as 鈥渟leaze bags." Merchan said Trump鈥檚 contention that he was responding to previous posts by Cohen 鈥渋s sufficient to give鈥� him pause on whether the post was a violation.
Those found to be violations included a Trump post quoting Fox News host Jesse Watters鈥� claim that liberal activists were lying to infiltrate the jury 鈥渃onstitutes a clear violation鈥� of the gag order. Merchan noted that the words contained within the quotation marks in Trump鈥檚 April 17 post misstated what Watters actually said.
Merchan cautioned that the gag order 鈥渘ot be used as a sword instead of a shield by potential witnesses鈥� and that if people who are protected by the order, like Cohen, continue to attack Trump 鈥渋t becomes apparent鈥� they don鈥檛 need the gag order鈥檚 protection.
Cohen, Trump鈥檚 former attorney, has said he will refrain from commenting about Trump until after he testifies at the trial. On Tuesday, he said in a text message to The Associated Press: 鈥淭he imposed fine is irrelevant. Judge Merchan鈥檚 decision elucidates that this behavior will not be tolerated and that no one is above the law."
In other developments, testimony resumed Tuesday with Gary Farro, a banker who helped Cohen open accounts, including one that Cohen used to buy Daniels' silence.
Jurors also began hearing from Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented McDougal and Daniels in their negotiations with the National Enquirer and Cohen. He testified that he arranged a meeting at his Los Angeles office to see whether the tabloid's parent company was interested in McDougal鈥檚 story. But Dylan Howard, the Enquirer鈥檚 then editor in chief, told him the tabloid wasn鈥檛 keen on the idea because she 鈥渓acked documentary evidence of the interaction,鈥� Davidson testified.
A month after their initial lunch meeting, Howard reached out again to Davidson, suggesting they should resume discussions about the story. At the time, Davidson warned that American Media Inc., the Enquirer鈥檚 parent company, would need to move quickly.
Davidson testified that McDougal was 鈥渢eetering鈥� at the time he sent the message and was on the verge of signing a deal to tell her story to ABC News.
Davidson told the jurors that he was playing the Enquirer and ABC News against each other to get the best deal for McDougal. The ex-Playboy model didn鈥檛 want to tell her story publicly, which would鈥檝e been required if she went to ABC, he said.
The tabloid eventually bought the story and buried it.
Trump鈥檚 son Eric joined him Tuesday, the first time a family member has attended the criminal trial. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton walked into the courtroom with Trump and his entourage for the afternoon session.
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the hush money payments. The detailed evidence on business transactions and bank accounts is setting the stage for testimony from Cohen, who went to federal prison after pleading guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and other crimes.
Last week, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker laid out how he agreed to serve as the Trump campaign's 鈥渆yes and ears鈥� by helping to squelch unflattering rumors and claims about Trump and women. Pecker described how he paid $180,000 to scoop up and sit on stories.
Trump's attorneys have suggested that he was engaged in an effort to protect his name and his family 鈥� not to influence the outcome of the presidential election.
The trial 鈥� the first of Trump's four criminal cases to come before a jury 鈥� is expected to last for another month or more. And with every moment Trump is in court, he's growing increasingly frustrated while the November election moves ever closer.
鈥淭his is a case that should have never been brought,鈥� he said.