After surprise testimony from Trump, judge fines him $10K for second gag order violation
The judge said Trump had committed a “blatant, dangerous” violation of his gag order by making comments that appeared to disparage the judge’s law clerk.
NEW YORK — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial fined him $10,000 for violating the judge’s gag order for a second time.
Trump unexpectedly took the witness stand Wednesday to face questioning from the judge about comments Trump made earlier in the day apparently disparaging the judge’s law clerk.
“As the trier of fact, I find the witness is not credible,” Justice Arthur Engoron said after Trump testified.
Trump’s testimony marked a remarkable moment in the trial, eliciting gasps in the room as the former president walked from the defense table to the witness stand.
During a break in the proceedings earlier in the day, Trump told reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom that “this judge is a very partisan judge with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”
With Trump on the witness stand, the judge asked: “To whom were you referring?”
“You and Cohen,” Trump replied, referring to Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer and fixer who testified about Trump’s business practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Engoron, however, indicated he believed Trump was referring to his law clerk, Allison Greenfield, who sits directly to the judge’s right on the bench and whom Trump has already disparaged once before.
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After giving surprise testimony, Donald Trump was fined $10,000 for violating a gag order for the second time in his civil fraud trial.https://t.co/gnpUJtFTCY
— POLITICO (@politico) October 25, 2023
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