Former President Trump Held in Contempt of Court for Violating Gag Order
Former US President Donald Trump was held in contempt of court on Tuesday, April 30, 2023, and fined USD 9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order. The order prohibited him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, and others connected to his New York hush-money case.
Judge Juan Merchan imposed the fine after finding Trump in contempt for nine instances of violating the gag order. These violations included criticizing expected trial witnesses in posts on social media and his campaign page. The court ordered Trump to pay the fine by the end of the week and remove the offending posts from his social media and campaign website.
Judge Merchan also warned Trump that further violations could result in imprisonment. He scheduled another hearing for Thursday to address additional comments Trump made since the initial hearing.
The contempt finding stemmed from prosecutors' allegations that Trump violated the gag order through 10 social media posts made before and during the trial. These posts allegedly violated the judge's restrictions prohibiting Trump from commenting on witnesses and jurors. Prosecutors also sought the removal of the posts.
Trump's remarks about Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and the makeup of the jury pool were highlighted by the prosecution. Trump's defense attorney, Todd Blanche, engaged in heated exchanges with the judge during the hearing.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to a hush-money deal with an adult film actress made ahead of the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege that Trump skirted campaign finance laws by funneling a payment of USD 130,000 to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels through Michael Cohen, his attorney, and then falsely claiming that the money used to repay Cohen was for legal work.