In his civil fraud trial, the judge fined the former president $10,000. According to the judge, Trump broke a restricted gag order that prohibited making disparaging remarks about court employees.
October 25, New York (Reuters) – On Wednesday, the New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial imposed a $10,000 punishment on the former US president for breaking a gag order prohibiting him from insulting court employees for the second time.
On October 3, Justice Arthur Engoron issued the order in response to Donald posting a picture of the judge’s top clerk smiling with Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on social media and erroneously referring to her as Schumer’s “girlfriend.”
Trump told reporters in a hallway during a break in the New York Attorney General Letitia James’s case on Wednesday regarding his business practices: This judge is a very partisan judge, sitting next to someone who is extremely politicized possibly even more so than he is. Engoron called Trump’s words a “blatant” violation of the gag order, speculating that he was making a reference to his clerk.
On Wednesday, the judge in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial abruptly called the former president to the witness stand and fined him $10,000 for breaking a gag order. It was the second time in less than a week that Trump faced consequences for remarks he made outside of court. court Arthur Engoron called Trump from the defense table to testify on his remark to reporters hours earlier about “a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside” the court, prior to imposing the most recent fine.
All trial participants had already received an injunction from Engoron not to discuss his staff in public. This restriction took effect on October 3 in response to a social media post by Trump disparaging the judge’s chief law clerk, who is seated next to him.
Donald and his legal team emphasized that the clerk was not the subject of his statement on Wednesday. They claimed he was referring to the former Donald lawyer who has been giving testimony, Michael Cohen.
Five days earlier, Donald had been fined $5,000 after Engoron discovered that the offensive social media post from early October had been removed from Donald’s Truth Social media platform on the judge’s orders, but it had remained on Donald’s campaign website for weeks.
The Republican front-runner for president then expressed dissatisfaction in a courthouse hallway on Wednesday, accusing Democrat Judge Richard Engoron of being “a very partisan judge, with a person who’s very partisan sat next to him, possibly even more so than he himself.
Trump informed the judge while testifying under oath that the comment was directed at “you and Cohen.” However, Donald did not mask his annoyance towards the clerk. “I believe she has a strong predisposition against us. Trump stated, “I think we’ve made that clear,” during his about two minutes on the witness stand. While Michael Cohen, his former fixer and lawyer, was testifying against Trump for a second day, Donald made his remarks in the hallway.
In his brief appearance on the witness stand before to being penalized, Trump informed Engoron that he had made reference to “you and Cohen” in his statement. The notion that Cohen was the “partisan” individual Trump had named was rejected by the judge, as Christopher Kise, Donald’s attorney, also expressed.
Engoron said, “I don’t understand the idea that that statement would refer to the witness.” It won’t be better if you do it again. Following his fine, Trump, the front-runner for the Republican candidacy to oppose Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 U.S. election, left the courtroom.
When Engoron discovered that Trump had not removed a post criticizing the clerk, he fined him $5,000 on October 20 and threatened to impose “far more severe” penalties, including jail time, for future infractions. Engoron stated that comments made against his employees were improper, unacceptable, and would never be accepted when the gag order was first put into place. As is typical in New York state courts, Engoron’s clerk sat next to the judge during the trial.
During Cohen’s testimony, Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, informed Engoron that she witnessed the clerk seem to roll her eyes, calling it “completely inappropriate.”
COHEN PUTS FOR CREDITABILITY
The trial focuses on claims that in order to deceive lenders and insurers, Donald and the Donald Organization, his family firm, illegally altered asset values and his net worth. The case has the potential to dismantle Trump’s enterprise. Cohen met with Trump in person for the first time in five years during the two days of his testimony. Cohen testified on Tuesday that Donald “arbitrarily” overstated the worth of real estate holdings to obtain advantageous insurance rates.
Cohen has authored two books and launched a political podcast since severing relations and turning into one of Trump’s most vocal detractors. Under Habba’s cross-examination on Wednesday, Cohen conceded that he had a financial motive to disparage Trump, but he maintained his integrity. He disagreed with Habba’s claim that he has “made a career” out of disparaging Donald and inflating criticism in order to further his own agenda.
According to Habba, the more absurd your stories about President Trump, the more money you make. “Is that accurate, Mr. Cohen?” No,” Cohen answered.
A defense attorney for Trump’s adult son Eric Trump, who is also a defendant in the case, requested that Engoron rule in favor of the defense right away due to what he considered to be Cohen’s conflicting testimony.
Cohen stated on Tuesday that Trump had instructed him to exaggerate the worth of his assets, but he did not remember receiving this instruction during his 2019 congressional testimony.
Denying the request, Engoron stated that it would be “absurd” to find in favor of the defense halfway through the trial on the basis of a single witness’s “equivocal” declaration.
“There’s enough evidence to fill this courtroom,” Engoron declared. In the lawsuit, Trump has denied any misconduct. In four different criminal trials this year, Trump has entered not guilty pleas.
Although Cohen’s acknowledged track record of dishonesty may damage his credibility in the eyes of Engoron, the man who will ultimately determine the outcome of the bench trial, his testimony could strengthen the attorney general’s case.
Cohen was given a three-year jail sentence after entering a guilty plea to tax fraud, campaign finance crimes, and perjury in 2018. Before the trial began on October 2, Engoron discovered that Trump had falsely exaggerated the size of his net worth. He therefore directed the dissolution of businesses that held the most valuable properties in his real estate holdings, such as Trump Tower in Manhattan. While Trump files an appeal, the decision is pending.
The main issue at trial is damages. James demands a minimum of $250 million in fines, a five-year ban on Trump and theDonald Organization’s ability to operate enterprises in New York, and a lifetime ban on Donald and his sons Eric and Donald Jr.
Reiterating Donald’s allegation that the clerk was partial, three of his attorneys challenged the $10,000 penalties. Shortly after receiving his fine and shortly after one of his attorneys completed interrogating Cohen, Trump got up and left the courtroom, followed closely by his son Eric. Given his voluntary attendance at the trial, Donald Trump is free to depart at any time. The instances cast doubt on Donald’s ability to follow judicial orders meant to temper his vitriol while upholding his right to free speech as he runs for reelection.
A gag order was imposed last week in Washington by the judge overseeing Donald’s federal election meddling criminal case, prohibiting him from making public remarks directed at the prosecution, court employees, or possible witnesses. The order was issued by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in response to concerns expressed by the prosecution that Donald’s statements would incite his fans to harass or endanger his targets.
On Friday, Chutkan temporarily overturned the order in order to give consideration to a defense motion to put a hold on the limits while Trump files an appeal. Cohen went back on the witness stand in the New York case on Wednesday, when the defense attempted to cast doubt on his reliability and his motivations.
Following ten years of serving as Trump’s go-between, Cohen broke with his employer in 2018 due to federal investigation. Soon after, Cohen entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to prison for tax evasion, lying to Congress, filing fake tax returns, and contributing illegally to Trump’s campaign. Payments were made to women who claimed to have had extramarital intercourse with Trump, a claim the business rejected.
Cohen developed been a vocal opponent of Trump and a crucial witness in the New York trial, which is based on a complaint that the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, filed. She claims that in order to obtain loans, insurance, and business partnerships, Trump routinely overstated the worth of his real estate holdings on financial documents.
The fine, which Merchan claimed was $1,000 for each of nine statements made online that were against the order, fell just short of the $10,000 that the prosecution had sought for remarks that ridiculed potential witnesses and cast doubt on the jury’s impartiality. At a hearing on Thursday, Merchan will decide whether to issue additional fines for other remarks. Additionally, by 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), the judge mandated that Trump take down the remarks from both his campaign website and Truth Social account.
Merchan’s ruling coincided with the start of the New York trial, which featured testimony from a banker who was acquainted with accounts related to Trump’s purported plot to rig the 2016 election by concealing a sexual scandal. The Republican running for president in 2024 is accused of fabricating financial documents to hide a $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on a 2006 alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Trump, whose actual name is Stephanie Clifford, has entered a not guilty plea and denied ever having sex with Daniels. Commencing on April 22, this historic criminal trial is the first involving a former US president.
Tuesday morning, about twenty fans of Trump gathered outside the courthouse, singing his name and brandishing banners that said “TRUMP 24.” A local Republican group had issued a call to action for supporters, following Donald’s complaint that not enough people were attending the trial.
Donald insists that James, a Democrat, is attacking him for political purposes and denies any wrongdoing.
Cohen stated in his testimony on Tuesday that he and other Donald business executives conspired to artificially raise the estimated values of their employer’s businesses in order to make Donald’s financial filings reflect a net worth that he had “arbitrarily” determined. When Engoron discovered that Trump had not removed a post criticizing the clerk, he fined him $5,000 on October 20 and threatened to impose “far more severe” penalties, including jail time, for future infractions.
During the trial, Engoron’s clerk sat beside the judge, as is customary in state courts in New York. During Cohen’s testimony, Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, informed Engoron that she witnessed the clerk seem to roll her eyes, calling it “completely inappropriate.”
Banker Garry Farro, who is not facing any charges, provided testimony on Friday regarding financial documents submitted by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and fixer, who the prosecution claims assisted in executing the plan.
Trump has stated that he may be campaigning in front of his rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden on November 5th, but he is still obligated to be at the trial. Denying the request, Engoron stated that it would be “absurd” to find in favor of the defense halfway through the trial on the basis of a single witness’s “equivocal” declaration.
In the lawsuit, Trump has denied any misconduct. In four different criminal trials this year, Trump has entered not guilty pleas.
Although Cohen’s acknowledged track record of dishonesty may damage his credibility in the eyes of Engoron, the man who will ultimately determine the outcome of the bench trial, his testimony could strengthen the attorney general’s case. Cohen was given a three-year jail sentence after entering a guilty plea to tax fraud, campaign finance crimes, and perjury in 2018.
Before the trial began on October 2, Engoron discovered that Trump had falsely exaggerated the size of his net worth. He therefore directed the dissolution of businesses that held the most valuable properties in his real estate holdings, such as Trump Tower in Manhattan. While Trump files an appeal, the decision is pending.
The main issue at trial is damages. James demands a minimum of $250 million in fines, a five-year ban on Donald and the Donald Organization’s ability to operate enterprises in New York, and a lifetime ban on Donald and his sons Eric.
Trump removed the post as directed by the judge, and he did so. However, it remained on his campaign website for weeks, leading to Trump’s $5,000 fine on Friday.
Michael Cohen, the witness, was the subject of Donald’s remark on Wednesday, according to him and his attorneys.
Reiterating Donald’s accusation that the judge’s law clerk was unjustly prejudiced, three of his attorneys protested to the fine, arguing that the remark was directed at Cohen.
Later in the trial, Donald is anticipated to testify regarding the claims made in the case.
