Trump fined and threatened with jail as gag order broken

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial has threatened to throw him in jail if he continues to break the gag order in the case, after hitting him with a 9,000 fine for nine separate violations.

- ALEX WOODWARD

Moments before a second week of witness testimony began yesterday morning, New York justice Juan Merchan issued a brief order from the bench finding the former president in contempt of court and ordering $1,000 fines for nine offending Truth Social posts where he attacked witnesses in the case.

In his written order, the judge warned that Mr Trump could face an “incarceratory punishment” if he continues his “wilful violations” of the court’s order, if “necessary and appropriate under the circumstances”. He also suggested that Mr Trump could face more severe financial sanctions, if the penalties aren’t enough to stop the billionaire defendant.

“While $1,000 may suffice in most instances to protect the dignity of the judicial system to compel respect for its mandates and to punish the offender for disobeying a court order, it unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine,” Judge Merchan wrote.

“In those circumstances, it would be preferable if the court could impose a fine more commensurate with the wealth of the contemnor,” he added. “In some cases that might be a $2,500 fine, in other cases it might be a fine of $150,000. Because this court is not cloaked with such discretion, it must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”

Mr Trump must delete the Truth Social posts by this afternoon and pay the fine by Friday. Manhattan prosecutors accused Mr Trump of breaching the trial gag order through at least 10 different posts on his Truth Social platform and on his campaign website, including posts targeting key witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.