The judge ruled that Trump has not complied with the ban on speaking about witnesses, jurors and others connected to the case.
He was fined $9,000 for nine violations – $1,000 for each count.
The judge warned that the ex-president could be imprisoned if the violations of the so-called muzzle curve continue. The ruling is a sharp rebuke for Trump, who has always insisted that he is only using his freedom of speech.
– Hereby warned
As Judge Juan M. Merchan read his decision, Trump stared down at the table in front of him and frowned.
Merchan said that Trump was hereby warned that the court will not tolerate continued violations of its orders and that it will impose detention on him if it deems it necessary under the given circumstances.
The ruling came at the start of the second week of the trial, in which prosecutors allege that Trump and his associates had hatched an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 election by buying off negative newspaper coverage. Trump categorically rejects this description.
Must pay by Friday
The former president must pay the fine by Friday. In addition, he must remove seven offensive posts on his online service True Social and two from the election campaign’s website. The deadline for this was Tuesday afternoon local time.
Trump is required to appear in court when it is set, and it happens four days a week. Otherwise, he is free to run an election campaign to become the Republicans’ candidate in the presidential election in November.
Outside the courtroom after the ruling on Tuesday, Trump repeated his usual criticism.
– This case should never have been raised, he maintained.
