Judge Arthur Engoron has imposed a $10,000 fine on President Donald Trump for allegedly breaching a politically motivated “gag order” in his New York civil fraud trial.
This gag order prevents the 45th president from discussing the officials overseeing his trial in New York, even though the case significantly impacts his 2024 campaign.
In a surprising turn of events, Trump was called as a witness to address allegations that he violated the gag order regarding a court secretary.
Trump slowly ascended the witness stand, adjusting his blue jacket upon sitting down. He took an oath to tell the truth and then directed his attention to the judge.
Judge Arthur Engoron inquired whether Trump had made the reported comment about him being “a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even more partisan than he is.”
Trump acknowledged and replied affirmatively, saying, “Yes.”
“To whom were you referring?” Engoron asked.
“You and Cohen,” Trump replied.
“Are you sure that you didn’t mean the person on the other side, my principal law clerk?” Engoron asked.
“Yes I’m sure,” Trump said.
Trump, when prompted, additionally commented that he believes the judge’s clerk is “very biased against us.”
He clarified that he had removed the prior Truth Social post that triggered the gag order.
The gag order was initially imposed when Trump’s Truth Social account referred to the clerk as Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) “girlfriend.”
Judge Engoron instructed Trump to take down the post, and it was promptly removed from Truth Social.
However, the post remained on Trump’s campaign website for an additional 17 days. Upon learning of this, Judge Engoron imposed a $5,000 fine on Trump for violating the order.
While on the witness stand, Trump stated his belief that “one of the political groups or PACs” may have left the post up.
“But I didn’t know they were gonna do that,” Trump said.
Once Trump was seated, Engoron issued his order to fine Trump $10,000 “on the liberal side.”
“As the trier of fact, I find that the witness is not credible,” Engoron said.
Trump’s attorney, Chris Kise, raised an objection to the order.
Kise argued that the judge seemed to have assumed ill intentions on Trump’s part.
Kise, along with Trump’s other legal representatives, contended that the close relationship between Engoron’s clerk and the judge essentially transformed her into a “second judge” in the case.
The legal team had previously expressed concerns about Engoron and his clerk having whispered discussions, sometimes accompanied by eye-rolling or audible signs of exasperation.
However, Engoron dismissed their objections and their claims regarding his clerk’s influence on his decision-making.
“I make the final decisions,” Engoron said.
