The judge presiding over the proceedings at Donald Trump’s trial in New York on Tuesday fined the former US president $9,000 for contempt of court and threatened him with “incarceration” for violating his ban to attack witnesses and jurors.
Donald Trump “is warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of his orders and that, if necessary and appropriate, it will impose a sentence of imprisonment,” reads the written decision of Judge Juan Merchan .
The judge delivered his decision to Donald Trump at the opening of the hearing Tuesday morning, as the trial enters its third week. He fined Donald Trump $1,000 per violation — nine in total –, the maximum allowed by law.
The former President of the United States is being prosecuted for 34 falsifications of accounting documents which were allegedly used to conceal a payment to cover up a potential sex scandal in the home stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign.
The $130,000 was paid to former porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about a sexual relationship she claimed to have had with him in 2006, when he was already married to his wife Melania. A relationship he denies.
Before the opening of the debates, the judge had prohibited Donald Trump from publicly attacking witnesses and jurors, which he regularly does on his social network Truth Social, to avoid the risk of intimidation.
From the first day of the trial, April 15, the prosecution had asked the judge to sanction Donald Trump, in particular for virulent invectives against Stormy Daniels and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who had become his sworn enemy and a key witness. of the accusation.
The prosecution returned to the charge three days later, with seven new publications on Truth Social or its campaign site.
The Republican candidate once again attacked Michael Cohen, described as a “serial liar”. But he also echoed the comments of Jesse Watters, a prominent host on the conservatives’ favorite channel Fox News, assuring without proof that “they are choosing undercover progressive activists who lie to the judge to be part of of the jury”.
The day after this publication, a juror threw in the towel, saying she feared being recognized.
