Trump Fined $9,000 For Gag Order Violations in Hush Money Trial
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Former President Donald Trump was fined $9,000 and threatened with jail time by Judge Juan Merchan for violating a gag order in his hush-money trial.
For Context: Trump is facing criminal charges over alleged hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Trump has been accused of paying Daniels over $130,000 in 2016, but continues to deny the allegations. The former president had been commenting publicly on potential witnesses and jurors. The prosecution argued that this was a violation of the judge’s gag order instructions. Responding to the fine, Trump argued that the gag order violates his Constitutional right to freedom of speech.
The Details: Judge Merchan found Trump guilty of contempt of court after violating his gag order nine times and warned the former President that future violations could lead to jail time. Prosecutors urged the judge to take action on Trump, pointing to posts made on his Truth Social platform and his campaign website, referring to figures like Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels as well as the jury pool.
How the Media Covered It: The Daily Beast (Left bias) accused Trump of orchestrating a “MAGA intimidation campaign” and emphasized the threat of prison time for further violations. The Daily Wire (Right bias) focused on Trump's response to the fine, where he accused Merchan of “rigging” the 2024 election. The article also pointed out donations by Merchan to President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Trump Given Final Warning: Shut Up or Face Jail
The third week of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York got off to an aggressive start on Tuesday morning, when the former president was swiftly fined $9,000 by the judge for repeatedly making public comments about jurors and witnesses—ignoring the court’s gag order that sought to stymie an ongoing MAGA intimidation campaign.
But when the judge’s order was filed minutes later, it became clear the that Trump is also receiving a final warning: stop the threatening rhetoric or get a one-way ticket behind bars.
“Defendant is hereby warned that...
From the Center
Read: Trump hush money gag order ruling
The judge overseeing former President Trump’s hush money case held him in contempt for violating a gag order nine times.
Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9,000 over his recent posts on Truth Social and campaign website attacking prospective jurors and prosecutors’ expected star witnesses, also warning the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
Read Merchan’s ruling below:
From the Right
Trump Responds To Gag Order Fine, Says Judge Is ‘Rigging’ 2024 Election
Former President Donald Trump said Judge Juan Merchan is “rigging” the 2024 presidential election after the judge slapped Trump with a $9,000 fine and threatened to jail him for social media posts that violated his gag order in the New York hush-money trial.
Merchan wrote in an order on Tuesday that Trump had violated his gag order nine times, fining him $1,000 for each offense. The former president is prohibited from commenting on potential witnesses, jurors, court staff, attorneys, and members of the judge’s family. Prosecutors urged Merchan to take...
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