A New York judge on Friday fined Donald Trump $5,000 for violating a gag order barring the former U.S. president from disparaging court staff during his civil fraud trial, warning that any future transgressions would bring "far more severe" sanctions including imprisonment, APA reports citing Reuters.
Justice Arthur Engoron said a Trump social media post attacking the judge's clerk - which was deleted from the former president's Truth Social platform - had remained visible on his 2024 campaign website two weeks after an order was issued to take it down.
The judge noted that the gag order violation appeared inadvertent, but added, "Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions."
Those sanctions, the judge said, could include steeper fines and possible imprisonment.
Engoron is presiding over the trial on civil charges brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James accusing Trump of unlawfully inflating his net worth to dupe lenders.
The judge in imposing the gag order said that comments directed at his staff were "unacceptable, inappropriate and will not be tolerated under any circumstances."
Trump at times has appeared in person at the ongoing trial, attacking James and Engoron in inflammatory remarks to reporters outside of the courtroom.
The lawsuit by James accused Trump of inflating the values of his properties by billions of dollars in statements to banks, reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings on loan interest. Trump is also accused of manipulating asset values to dupe insurers.
Trump, who has sought to portray the case as intended to hurt him politically, has denied wrongdoing and defended his asset valuations. He has said banks conducted their own due diligence and profited on the loans.
The trial, which began three weeks ago, has centered on reams of emails and financial documents detailing how Trump's companies valued their properties.
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