Judge Defends Fining Trump $10,000 Over Contested Gag Order Violation

The judge in former President Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial defended fining the former U.S. leader $10,000 for violating a gag order by criticizing court staff. 

For Context: On Wednesday, Trump said, “This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him – perhaps even much more partisan than he is.” Judge Arthur Engoron took Trump to be referring to his clerk, whom Trump previously suggested was Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) “girlfriend.” A Truth Social post with a photo of the clerk was sent to Trump’s campaign email list.

The Details: Trump’s legal team argued that Trump had been referring to a witness, Michael Cohen, and not the clerk — but also argued that Trump should be allowed to criticize the clerk. Engoron agreed to review footage of Trump’s remarks, but later said, “the subject of Donald Trump’s public statement to the press was unmistakably clear,” adding that “using imprecise language” to create “plausible ambiguity” was “not a defense.” 

Key Quotes: “Anybody can run for president. I am going to protect my staff,” Engoron said on Thursday. In response, the former president wrote in multiple posts that the “Radical Left Judge” had “GONE CRAZY IN HIS HATRED OF ‘TRUMP.’”

How the Media Covered It: Coverage appeared less common among right-rated outlets. While some left-rated outlets took the position that Trump’s comments violated the gag order, a writer for The Federalist framed them as a “Benign Campaign Comment.”