Judge Engoron forces Donald Trump onto the stand in wake of gag order violation

| 4:10 pm EDT October 25, 2023
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Over the weekend Donald Trump attacked Judge Arthur Engoron on social media, leading a number of prominent voices on our side to insist that Trump had violated the judge’s gag order. I explained that the judge had never explicitly stated whether he had included himself in the gag order barring Trump from mentioning court officers. Sure enough, the judge made clear today that he had not included himself in the gag order. But Trump managed to screw up anyway.

Outside the courtroom, a flustered Trump started babbling and semi-incoherently made apparent reference to the judge’s clerk again – which is an actual violation of the gag order. To that end, the judge reportedly forced Trump to take the stand, and questioned him about it. Trump tried to claim that he’d actually been referring to the judge and Michael Cohen – not to the judge’s clerk. But the judge stated that he found this answer non-credible, and fined Trump $10,000.

This may not sound like much, but it’s how the contempt process works. The judge is not going to instantly send Trump through a trap door into a jail cell simply for one confused babbling quasi-reference to the judge’s clerk. But by taking the formal steps that were taken today, the judge is absolutely laying the groundwork for tossing Trump in a cell if he keeps up this pattern of behavior. More to the point, the judge’s current steps are a way of ensuring that if and when he does drop the contempt hammer, the court of appeals won’t overturn it.

So if you’re convinced that Trump is going to keep violating the gag order, then don’t worry, that scenario will absolutely lead to him being in a cell. And if you’re upset that the dollar amount of the fine is low, who cares? This trial is going to take all of Trump’s assets anyway. Again, these fines are about laying the groundwork for successfully tossing Trump in a cell.

As a side note, because Trump’s worsening legal troubles are overlapping at this point, Trump’s attack on Mark Meadows last night is a matter for a different trial. That matter will be handled by Judge Chutkan in criminal court. It has nothing to do with Trump’s New York civil trial or Judge Engoron, in case you’re wondering why Engoron didn’t address it today.

The real upshot here is that Donald Trump was forced to take the stand today against his will and try to explain why he dared to make apparent mention of the clerk. That had to be utterly humiliating for Trump – and a good reminder for him that he’s completely powerless in all of this. Trump is being dismantled one piece at a time, and the pieces are getting larger.