New York, April 30: Former US President Donald Trump was found guilty of contempt of court on Tuesday in a case related to his relationship with a porn star and was also fined $ 9,000 for repeatedly violating the ban order.
The court had barred Trump from making public statements to witnesses, jurors and some other people involved in the hush money case over his relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels. The judge warned Trump that if he did it again, he could be sentenced to jail. Prosecutors had charged Trump with 10 violations in the case, but New York Judge Juan M. Marchan found him guilty of nine. The decision is a blow to the former president, who had insisted he was exercising his free speech rights.
Judge Merchan wrote in the order that he warned Trump that the court will not tolerate willful violations of its orders and will sentence him to prison if necessary. The decision came at the beginning of the second week of testimony in the case.
Manhattan prosecutors say Trump and his associates engaged in an illegal scheme in 2016 to suppress negative news about him. Trump has declared himself innocent in the case.
The judge said in the decision that Trump will have to pay the fine by Friday. The court said that Trump will have to remove seven objectionable posts from his Truth Social account and two posts from his presidential campaign website by Tuesday afternoon. The judge is also considering other cases of violation of the ban and will hear arguments on Thursday.
The court on Tuesday heard the case of others, including banker Gary Farro, who helped Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen open bank accounts. This included an account that Cohen used to pay money to keep porn star Stormy Daniels quiet. Daniels had accused Trump of having a sexual relationship in 2006. Trump had denied the allegations.
