Former President Trump was fined $10,000 by NY County Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron for breaking a gag order. This week, Engoron made Trump take a seat on the witness stand to be questioned about the claimed violation.
Engoron questioned Trump about the identity of the “very partisan judge with an individual who’s extremely partisan seated beside him, possibly far more partisan than what he is,” as CNBC reported.
Engoron, who is overseeing a civil lawsuit against Trump along with his two oldest sons that is not being tried by a jury and was filed by Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, is said to have thought he was talking about Clerk Allison Greenfield.
Trump stated that he was speaking about Engoron and Michael Cohen, who used to work for him and is now speaking against him in the case.
“Are you positive that the individual on the other end, my principal law clerk, is not who you meant?” The Hill said that Engoron asked.
“Yes, I am sure,” the 45th president said. But Engoron didn’t believe Trump, so he fined him $10,000 when he went back to his chair and said the sentence was “on the liberal side.”
This is in addition to the $5,000 fine Engoron gave Trump this week for breaking his gag order.
“Make sure you understand that future violations, if unintentionally or intentionally, will result in subjecting the violator to much more severe sanctions,” Engoron stated at the time in court papers, which were picked up by the Associated Press (AP).
“These could entail, but aren’t limited to, harsher fines, finding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and even potential jail time under the NY Judiciary Law,” the judge wrote.
In response to Greenfield’s criticism on social media by Trump, who has referred to Engoron as a “Democrat operative” who deserves to be “disbarred,” Engoron on October 3 imposed a gag order on him, says the AP.
According to Breitbart News, James, a Democrat, sued the top Republican presidential contender for $250 million, saying that he and his sons “participated in multiple acts of deception and misrepresentation” by overpricing at least 23 business properties for at least ten years.
