Trump in contempt: hush-money judge orders Trump fined $9,000 for nine violations of his gag order

Donald Trump at his hush-money trial.

Pool/Curtis Means

Trump was found in contempt Thursday for nine violations of his hush-money trial gag order. Trump was fined $9,000, the maximum allowed by law; no mention was made of a punishment of jail.The judge contempt order came in response to Trump’s online attacks on witnesses and jurors.

Donald Trump is in contempt of court and must pay a $9,000 fine for repeatedly violating his gag order, the judge presiding over the Manhattan hush-money trial ruled on Thursday.

Read Trump’s contempt order here.

Trump violated his gag by questioning the impartiality of his jury and by attacking trial witnesses Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels as liars and “sleaze bags” on Truth Social and on his campaign website, the judge found.

There were nine violations in all, the judge, state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, found, out of ten that prosecutors had complained violated the gag order.

Trump still faces a potential additional contempt finding — along with more fines and, though less likely, a short stint in jail — for four alleged violations from last week. A hearing on those four most recent alleged violations has been scheduled for Thursday.

In these latest violations, Trump again disparaged jurors, Cohen, and another key prosecution witness — former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker — in on-camera statements from Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of last week.

Prosecutors have alleged a total of 14 gag violations, all from April. Tuesday’s $9,000 fine represents $1,000 for nine violations, the maximum for contempt set by New York law, which also sets a 30-day maximum term of jail for each violation.

Merchan found Trump in contempt outside the jury’s hearing on Tuesday, before the start of direct testimony by the trial’s third witness, Gary Farro, a former banker for Michael Cohen.

The judge did not reprimand or warn Trump in any way in issuing the contempt finding, saying merely, “the court finds the people have met their burden” of proving contempt.

Prosecutor Christopher Conroy had called Trump’s a threat to the trial, now in its second week.

Other witnesses, beyond Cohen and Daniels, see these posts and are also intimidated, the prosecutor said last week, calling it “sort of the undertow effect.”

“The defendant is having his day in court,” Conroy had argued. “Unfortunately,” the prosecutor added, “he is doing everything he can to undermine this process.”

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche had countered in court last Tuesday that Trump had been “trying to comply” with the gag order.

The order, issued April 1, bars Trump from making statements about jurors, witnesses, and certain trial staff and their family members, if those statements could influence the trial.

“President Trump is being very careful,” Blanche had added in arguments Tuesday.

It was at this point that Merchan lashed into Blanche.

“You’re losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan told the lawyer, his voice frustrated.

This is a breaking story; please check back for developments.