Judge Juan Merchan, the New York judge presiding in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has fined the former U.S President $9,000 for violating a gag order designed to protect trial participants from his abuse.
Merchan found Trump in contempt of the gag order in nine out of 10 instances identified by prosecutors, in which Trump assailed the credibility of his former lawyer Michael Cohen and the adult film star Stormy Daniels.
This came as Trump’s trial entered its third week today, after a fallow day on Monday, April, 29, 2024.
Prosecutors had accused Trump of violating his gag order multiple times, asking the judge to fine him $1,000 per violation.
Under the gag order, Trump cannot make, or direct others to make, public statements about trial witnesses concerning their roles in the investigation and at trial, prosecutors other than the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and members of the court staff or the district attorney’s staff.
Trump is free to criticize Merchan himself, though it will probably not help Trump win the favor over the judge, who will decide on Trump’s sentence if the jury finds him guilty.
Before the trial, Merchan extended the gag order to cover his family and Bragg’s family after Trump posted about Merchan’s daughter, who worked for a company that helped Democratic candidates with digital campaigns.
Merchan also warned Trump that he could be subject to jail time if he continued to violate the gag order.
He wrote, “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 incarceratory punishment.”
The judge imposed the maximum $1,000 fine for each of the nine violations, but Trump may be subject to more penalties this week after Merchan scheduled another contempt hearing on Thursday, May 2, 2024, for additional alleged violations.
Trump’s campaign started fundraising off the ruling that he violated the court’s gag order.
“Democrat judge just ruled against me,” read the subject line of the email, which shares the news that, “A Democrat judge JUST HELD ME IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!”
“THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME!” the message continued, asking supporters to “STAND WITH TRUMP” by contributing money.
Gary Farro’s Testimony Resumes
Also on Tuesday, more testimony was given from the private banker, Gary Farro about dodgy financial maneuvering to hide Trump’s dirty laundry from American voters.
Farro already told the court last week that in 2015, he became the contact for Michael Cohen – then Trump’s attorney – at First Republic Bank, where he says he witnessed Cohen’s financial chicanery to protect Trump.
Prosecutors say Trump, Cohen and tabloid honcho David Pecker plotted in the summer of 2015 to bury any negative stories that could harm Trump’s run for President.
Farro helped Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen open accounts.
Cohen used one to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels in the weeks before the 2016 election. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
Cohen indicated the account, opened in late October 2016 in the name of Essential Consultants LLC, would be used for real estate consulting, according to testimony and documents shown at the trial.
In response to prosecutor Becky Mangold’s questions, Farro said that the bank would have asked more questions if there had been any mention of a connection to a political candidate, buying a story that was being pitched to the media or paying a porn performer.
The additional scrutiny would have delayed or even nixed opening the account, which Cohen had wanted to open right away.
In particular, the adult film world “is an industry we don’t work with,” he said.
Farro said that with only real estate in the picture, the account was opened within a day.
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