Hush money trial: judge fines Donald Trump US$9,000, threatens jail if he violates gag order again
- Trump was held in contempt of court, a stinging rebuke for Republican White House challenger, who had insisted he was exercising his free speech rights
- If jailed for continuing to make public statements about witnesses, jurors or others related to the case, he would be the first ex-US president put behind bars
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court on Tuesday and fined US$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 US president’s insistence that he was exercising his free speech rights and a reminder that he is a criminal defendant subject to the harsh realities of trial procedure.
The judge’s suggestion that he may jail the former president signalled that Trump’s already precarious legal standing could further spiral depending on his behaviour during the trial.
Merchan wrote that he is “keenly aware of, and protective of,” Trump’s First Amendment rights, “particularly given his candidacy for the office of president of the United States”.