Topline
Former President Donald Trump will have to pay $9,000 for nine violations of the gag order against him in his ongoing criminal trial, Judge Juan Merchan ruled Tuesday, the first consequences to be imposed against the ex-president in the hush money case—and a possible precursor to further punishments, including imprisonment, if Trump continues to publicly blast witnesses.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press as he arrives at his trial at Manhattan Criminal ... [+]
Key Facts
Merchan ordered Trump to pay $1,000 for each of the nine violations he was found guilty of, ruling prosecutors had proven “beyond a reasonable doubt” the ex-president should be found guilty of criminal contempt.
Prosecutors accused Trump of violating the gag order 10 times, after Merchan imposed an order barring the ex-president from making public statements about potential witnesses, jurors, counsel and others in the case that could interfere with the proceedings—with prosecutors claiming social media posts Trump made about potential witnesses and jurors in the case went against the order.
Merchan agreed most of those posts violated the gag order—including “reposts” in which Trump shared other people’s posts—except for one post in which Trump claimed he was merely responding to “political attacks” by ex-attorney Michael Cohen, which Merchan said was a “tenuous” argument but he’d give Trump the benefit of the doubt.
While violations of the gag order can be punishable by up to 30 days in prison under New York state law, prosecutors only asked Merchan to fine Trump $1,000 per violation for now—the maximum fine allowed under state law—though they also suggested the judge warn future violations could be met with imprisonment.
Merchan held a hearing on the issue last week where he signaled he was likely to rule against the ex-president, repeatedly getting testy with Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche as he argued Trump didn’t violate the order and even telling the attorney at one point he was “losing all credibility with the court.”
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung has not yet responded to a request for comment, but Trump has previously railed against the gag order and claimed it violates his freedom of speech.
What To Watch For
Merchan warned in his ruling Trump could be imprisoned for future violations of the order, noting a $1,000 fine “will not achieve the desired result” of deterring Trump from violating the order given that he can easily afford it. The court “must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment,” Merchan wrote, adding that Trump “is hereby warned” that “if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances,” the court “will impose an incarceratory punishment” for future violations. Those violations could come soon, as prosecutors have already accused Trump of violating the gag order another four times. A hearing will take place on those alleged violations on Thursday.
What We Don’t Know
If Trump will continue to speak out against potential witnesses in the case—namely former attorney Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels, who his previous violations involved—despite the gag order. The ex-president has previously suggested he has little regard for the order, continuing to speak out against Cohen even hours before last week’s gag order hearing and telling reporters last week, “When are they going to look at all the lies that Cohen did in the last trial?” (Trump was referring to his previous civil fraud trial, in which Cohen testified against him.) Trump has previously claimed it would be his “great honor” to go to prison over the gag order and prosecutors noted during the gag order hearing Trump seemed to be “angling for” a prison sentence for violating it—which could help the former president financially, as he has used his legal issues as a way to fundraise for his presidential campaign.
Chief Critic
“The Gag Order imposed on me, a political candidate running for the highest office in the land, is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL! Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Trump said on Truth Social Wednesday, ahead of Merchan’s ruling. “The Conflicted Judge’s friends and party members can say whatever they want about me, but I am not allowed to respond.”
Key Background
Trump is on trial for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, based on payments he made to Cohen after the lawyer paid Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up her alleged affair with Trump. Trump then reimbursed Cohen through a series of payments made throughout 2017—totaling $420,000, adding in another expense, bonus and money to cover taxes—which prosecutors allege were paid through the Trump Organization and falsely labeled as legal payments. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and his lawyers have maintained the checks were personal expenses and not business payments. Merchan imposed the gag order against Trump in March and expanded it in April to include family members of members of the court, after the former president attacked the judge’s daughter on social media. The gag order in the hush money case is the third that’s now been imposed on Trump, following restrictions on his speech in the civil fraud case against him and his company and in the ongoing federal criminal case over Trump trying to overturn the 2020 election. Appeals courts have repeatedly held up those gag orders, and the order in the civil fraud case resulted in Trump being fined $15,000 for two violations.
