- Donald Trump was fined $1,000 and found in contempt of court for the tenth time.
- Trump might serve as much as four years in prison if found guilty.
- The primary suspects in the investigation, including Cohen and Daniels—real name Stephanie Clifford—have not yet testified.
For breaking a gag order that prevents him from publicly discussing the jurors and witnesses in the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president, Donald Trump was fined $1,000 and found in contempt of court for the tenth time.
Judge Juan Merchan stated that the affluent business magnate continued to break the injunction, which prevented him from speaking in public about the jurors and witnesses in the historic trial, despite having already been fined nine thousand dollars.
Donald Trump
In the historic trial involving a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 election, imprisonment would be an extraordinary move.
In evidence that could support the prosecution’s claim that Trump fabricated financial records to conceal the hush money payment, jurors were shown bank records and heard testimony from a former Trump staff member.
Merchan saw jail time as a last alternative when he assessed the penalties since it would interfere with the trial, present significant security risks, and taint the 2024 presidential election. But he claimed that Trump’s persistent, deliberate disregard for the gag order amounted to an outright assault on the rule of law.
Prosecutors presented business papers to the jurors on the twelfth day of the trial, which showed payments made by Trump to Cohen, his attorney and longtime fixer, totaling $420,000.
Attorneys for the prosecution claim that Trump’s payment to Daniels tainted the 2016 election by concealing the information from voters at a time when his campaign against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton focused heavily on his treatment of women.
Critics claim that the tampered business documents concealed tax and election law infractions, turning the 34 charges against Trump from misdemeanors to felonies carrying a maximum four-year jail sentence. Trump might serve as much as four years in prison if found guilty; however, most defendants are sentenced to probation and penalties only.
The primary suspects in the investigation, including Cohen and Daniels—real name Stephanie Clifford—have not yet testified. Despite the vile accusations of adultery and covert payments in the case, it is generally viewed as less significant than the three other criminal cases that Trump is facing.
