The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush-money trial fined the former president $9,000 and threatened him with jail time for social media posts the judge said violated a court-imposed gag order.
Judge Juan Merchan wrote in an order on Tuesday that Trump had violated a gag order against speaking out about several people involved in the trial nine times. Merchan fined the former president $1,000 for each violation and ordered him to delete the posts in question from Truth Social and Trump’s campaign website.
The judge warned Trump that additional violations of the gag order could result in jail time for the former president. Merchan complained that he is not legally allowed to fine Trump more than $1,000 for each violation, arguing that heftier fines, potentially as large as $150,000, would be more likely to produce the desired effect.
“Criminal contempt is punishable…
