New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Friday fined fat former President Trump a measly $5,000 for failing to remove a copy of his Truth Social post attacking Engoron’s court clerk from the Trump campaign website after Engoron had imposed a gag order on such invective earlier this month.
“Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order. He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it. Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is no longer appropriate; this Court is way beyond the ‘warning’ stage. Given defendant’s position that the violation was inadvertent, and given that it is a first time violation, this Court will impose a nominal fine, $5,000, payable to the New York Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, within ten (10) days of the date of this order. Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include, but are not limited to, steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him,” Engoron wrote in the sanction order.