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Trump held in contempt for violating gag order in “hush money” trial. Here’s how much he owes.
The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York held him in contempt of court on Tuesday for violating a gag order that limits what he can say about those involved in the case, and warned him that he could be jailed if he violates the order again.
Judge Juan Merchan said Trump violated the order nine times in recent weeks in posts on Trump’s Truth Social platform and campaign website, many of which targeted Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, key witnesses in the case. Merchan fined Trump $9,000, or $1,000 for each violation, and ordered him to delete the posts.
The judge announced the ruling from the bench and issued an accompanying written order. He wrote that Trump “violated the Order by making social media posts about known witnesses pertaining to their participation in this criminal proceeding and by making public statements about jurors in this criminal proceeding.”
Merchan wrote that New York law doesn’t allow him to impose a fine higher than $1,000 per violation, which “unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the [defendant] can easily afford such a fine.” He said a higher fine might be appropriate in those cases, but since he does not have that discretion, the court “must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”
He concluded with a warning to Trump: “Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.”
The Trump gag order
Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images
Merchan issued the original gag order in March, before the trial got underway. It barred Trump from commenting on likely witnesses, potential jurors, court staff, lawyers for the prosecution and others connected to the case. The judge later expanded that order to cover his own family members after Trump attacked his daughter over her consulting work with Democratic candidates and progressive causes.
The gag order does not prevent Trump from criticizing Merchan or Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney.
Prosecutors from Bragg’s office filed a motion urging the judge to find Trump in contempt over 10 posts targeting Cohen, Daniels and others. Merchan found that Trump violated the order in all but one of the posts.
Prosecutors laid out four other instances in which they said Trump violated the order when court convened last Thursday. Those four alleged violations are the subject of a hearing set to be held this week.
At a hearing over the posts earlier last week, Chris Conroy, an attorney on Bragg’s team, said they “willfully and flagrantly” violated the order.
“No one is off limits to the defendant. He can attack and seek to intimidate anyone he wants to in service to himself,” prosecutor Chris Conroy said. He asked that the judge impose a $1,000 fine for each post and order Trump to take them down.
Todd Blanche, an attorney for Trump, argued that his client was responding to political attacks in his posts, and did not believe he was violating the order when reposting or quoting others. Merchan repeatedly asked him to name the precise attacks Trump was responding to, which Blanche could not do.
“Mr. Blanche, you’re losing all credibility. I have to tell you that right now. You’re losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan said at one point.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to reimbursements for a $130,000 “hush money” payment to Daniels, an adult film star who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump, which Trump denies. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case, and repeatedly protested the gag order as “unconstitutional.”
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.