On Friday, a judge handed down a $5,000 fine to former President Donald Trump over a derogatory post about a court staffer that remained on the website of his campaign for several weeks. The fine comes as part of Trump's ongoing civil fraud trial in New York.
What Happened: Judge Arthur Engoron slapped the fine on Trump for not promptly removing a disparaging post about a court staffer from his campaign website, despite being ordered to do so, the Associated Press reported.
The judge chose not to hold Trump in contempt for now but reserved the right to reconsider, including the possibility of jail time, if further violations occur.
Christopher Kise, Trump's lawyer, attributed the failure to erase the post to an unintentional oversight by Trump's sizable campaign team. The post was finally removed late Thursday after Engoron brought it to the attention of Trump's legal team, according to the AP.
The judge stressed that Trump is ultimately accountable for his campaign's actions, even if the failure to remove the post was unintentional. He gave Trump 10 days to settle the $5,000 penalty.
Why It Matters: The fine comes after the former president was issued a gag order by Engoron earlier in the trial. The gag order was in response to Trump's social media criticisms of the judge’s chief law clerk. The judge deemed such remarks unacceptable and warned of serious sanctions for any breaches of the order, potentially including fines or contempt of court charges.
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