Donald Trump Threatened w/ Jail Time & Ordered To Pay $9,000 In Fines After Repeatedly Violating Gag Order In Hush Money Trial

Donald Trump

Donald Trump Threatened w/ Jail Time & Ordered To Pay $9,000 In Fines After Repeatedly Violating Gag Order In Hush Money Trial

Presidential nominee Donald Trump could find himself in a jail cell soon.

According to reports, a court judge recently threatened the politician with a prison stint should he continue to go against gag orders in his ongoing criminal hush money trial.

In a hearing held earlier today (Tuesday, April 30th), Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan reportedly held Donald Trump in contempt for violating a gag order at least 9 times on social media. The judge ruled that in several posts uploaded to his platform Truth Social, Donald Trump made attempts to discredit the validity of the case. He reportedly referenced one post in particular where the 45th US president rephrased a remark from a Fox News host that claimed “undercover Liberal Activists” are “lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,” stating the post was clearly meant to:

“call into question the legitimacy of the jury selection process in this case…This constitutes a clear violation of the Expanded Order and requires no further analysis.”

Though Trump’s lawyers insisted he’s been trying to comply with the gag order, arguing that his Truth Social posts should be exempt because they were a response to political comments and not focused on witness testimony, the judge disagreed. He reportedly added in his ruling:

“the only credible finding is that the reposts constitute statements of the Defendant,”

Ultimately, the judge ruled that Trump must pay the maximum penalty of $9,000, $1,000 for each of the 9 posts, and remove the posts today by 2:15 pm EST. He also made it clear that the businessman is not above being thrown in the slammer, stating:

“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,”  

In case you’re unfamiliar with the case, Trump stands accused of falsifying business documents as part of a plot to influence the 2016 presidential election, which he ultimately won. Prosecutors argue that Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged affair with the politician from a few years prior with a $130,000 settlement check issued in the form of an illegal shell account.

Stormy Daniels

They also claim that Trump reimbursed Michael Cohen the money over a period of time after he made it to the White House. Trump has maintained his innocence, alleging that he had no parts nor knowledge of Cohen’s doing. The trial is still ongoing at this time.

[VIA]

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