Former president Donald Trump's controversial comments and social media posts finally cost him -- albeit a paltry sum for the self-proclaimed billionaire -- when Judge Juan Merchan found him in violation of the gag order imposed in his historic hush-money trial.
Merchan on Monday ruled that Trump had violated the gag order nine times and fined him $1,000 per violation. Trump was ordered to remove the "offending posts" from his Truth Social platform and his presidential campaign website by 2:15 p.m. ET Monday.
The action comes after a protracted back-and-forth between Trump and prosecutors over his outbursts about the trial. Trump has spoken and posted about the judge, prosecutors and their family members, as well as jurors and witnesses, since his trial began two weeks ago.
Prosecutors recently presented the judge with 10 specific examples of violations -- nine of which Merchan agreed crossed the line. In addition to the $9,000 in fines, Trump and his attorneys received another stern warning from Merchan that more violations could result in jail time.
"(The) defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment," Merchan's order read.
Trump's trial continued immediately after the gag order hearing, which took place without jurors present. Testimony continued from state's witness Gary Farro, a banker who was allegedly involved in setting up the accounts to pay hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
