Trump Faces Contempt Charges for Violating Gag Order

A New York judge threatened to hold Donald Trump in contempt for violating a gag order by keeping a disparaging social media post about a court staffer on his campaign website.

A New York judge threatened to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court on Friday, raising the possibility of fining or even jailing the former president. The judge's threat came after Trump's disparaging social media post about a key court staffer remained visible on his campaign website for weeks, despite a court order to delete it.

The Limited Gag Order

The limited gag order, issued on October 3, barred Trump and others involved in the case from making personal attacks on members of Judge Arthur Engoron's judicial staff. Engoron said the website's retention of the post was a "blatant violation" of his order. He noted that "in this current overheated climate," incendiary posts have led to harm.

Trump's Absence and Blame Game

Trump was not present in court on Friday. He had attended the trial earlier in the month but has since been aiming his enmity at Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose fraud lawsuit is being decided at the civil trial. Neither are covered by Engoron's gag order. Trump's lawyer, Christopher Kise, blamed the "very large machine" of Trump's presidential campaign for allowing a version of his deleted social media post to remain on his website, calling it an unintentional oversight.

Judge's Warning and Potential Consequences

Engoron, however, said the buck ultimately stops with Trump, even if it was someone on his campaign who failed to remove the offending post. He warned that he would take the matter under advisement and consider imposing sanctions on Trump. New York law allows judges to impose fines or imprisonment as punishment for contempt. Last year, Engoron held Trump in contempt and fined him $110,000 for being slow to respond to a subpoena in the investigation that led to the lawsuit.

The Ongoing Trial and Expected Testimonies

James' lawsuit accuses Trump and his company of duping banks and insurers by giving them heavily inflated statements of Trump's net worth and asset values. Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his company committed fraud, but the trial involves remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsifying business records. Trump denies wrongdoing and has called the trial a "sham," a "scam," and "a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time."

The contempt discussion brought unexpected drama to the trial, which is expected to see more action in the coming weeks. Trump's onetime lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, is expected to take the witness stand on Tuesday. Property appraiser David McArdle also resumed his testimony about Trump's son Eric Trump's "lofty ideas" for valuing some of his father's properties and development plans. A Trump Organization executive who worked on Trump's 2016 financial statement also testified and will resume on Monday. Trump and his two eldest sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., are expected to testify in the coming weeks. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, is fighting a subpoena for her testimony, and a hearing on that dispute is set for next week.

The civil fraud trial against Donald Trump continues to unfold, with the judge threatening to hold him in contempt for violating a court order. The trial is expected to see more drama and testimony from key witnesses in the coming weeks, as the legal battle over Trump's alleged financial misconduct continues.