Former President Donald Trump received a $5,000 fine on Friday for violating the gag order put in place by Judge Arthur Engoron to protect his staff and his courtroom’s proceedings.
$5000. What bullshit.
Former President Donald Trump received a $5,000 fine on Friday for violating the gag order put in place by Judge Arthur Engoron to protect his staff and his courtroom’s proceedings.
$5000. What bullshit.
It doesn’t mean every fine will be $5k, it’s a warning. The judge is saying it’s a serious gag order with consequences, $5k is probably the average fine for first violations.
There was an open question about what the judge could do about violations of the gag order, it’s just impossible that an ex President goes to jail for violations of a gag order…I’d argue he’s not going regardless, but 100% not going for this. So we have an answer, there will be fines.
If this is the sort of fine he’s going to get, he’ll violate it as often as he can. So this is either bait, or this judge is a fucking idiot.
Crimes punished by fines only apply to poor people.
But if the judge imposes a fine that would be meaningful to a “billionaire,” then he feeds the right-wing narrative of being on a vendetta against Trump. That’s an issue with all the prosecutions, and doubtless part of the reason he seems to get such kid-glove treatment.
It’s not the sort of fine he will get. It’s the fine he’s getting for a first offense for a minor violation (this was something existing since before the gag that was left up).
It’s a shot across the bow to show that the weapon is loaded and the judge will use it.
He already had several verbal warnings. This is a joke.
But verbal warning is different thing as to a legal ruling and actual punishment action, actual real consequences and not just a strongly worded letter. Yeah 5k is meaningless for him, but it demonstrates punishment clauses can be used. Thinking is “this should make him/his lawyers read rest of the punishment scale and that should deter him”.
If it doesn’t, stronger punishments will be applied.
My point is that this is piddling and should have been the first or second step, not seventh. At this rate we’re about 200 more incidents away from house arrest.
The need to double it every time. And keep paying attention so they don’t miss any violations.