Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 by a New York judge on Friday for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff – and was warned twice about possible imprisonment.
“Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order. He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it,” Judge Arthur Engoron said in his order Friday.
“Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is not longer appropriate; this Court is way behind the ‘warning’ stage.”
I see the fine as both a warning and a lure for Trump. The court will step up the punishments, of that I am sure. And they started with a, for him, neglectable fine. He and his fanboys might laugh about this, but it could easily lead to prison for the next time he’s fined - he now had ample warning from the court that he will be punished, and the next time it will be a repeat offence.