No rulebook can constrain Donald Trump . As a result, the legal system is using force to fight the resistance. Despite that, the former president breaks free every time somebody tries to tame his “rulebreaking” personality. A judge hearing his civil fraud trial had trouble holding him accountable amid his fury.
On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to stand before the court to explain his conduct. Without hesitation, the 77-year-old pushed back his chair and reached for the witness box. By way of habit, he violated a gag order prohibiting him from attacking court personnel.
Consequently, Judge Engoron slapped Trump with a fine of $10,000. He previously told reporters outside of the courtroom, “This judge is a very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him,” adding, “perhaps even much more partisan than he is,” reported CNN. In his defense, he denied it.
The Republican frontrunner explained he wasn’t referring to the senior law clerk. His lawyers also claimed the statement was about his former attorney and “fixer,” Michael Cohen. However, Judge Engoron didn’t buy his claims and questioned, “To whom were you referring [in the hallway]?”
Trump responded, “You and [Michael] Cohen.” Engoron further enquired, “Are you sure you didn’t mean the person on the other side?” (referencing his clerk seated near him) The ex-president replied, “Yes, I am sure.” Regardless, the judge wasn’t convinced of his explanation and fined him.
“The idea that that statement would refer to the witness doesn’t make sense to me,” Engoron said. He also warned Trump, “Don’t do it again, or it will be worse.” Previously, on October 20, 2023, the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial slapped another fine of $5,000 after his “disparaging” post about the clerk, which he didn’t take down.
Engoron further cautioned him that if he transgressed in the future, it could result in “far more severe” sanctions, including jail, reported Reuters . Also, while imposing the gag order, the judge declared comments against his staff were “unacceptable, inappropriate, and will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”
Trump’s successful business empire led to the building of his political identity and brand. The 2024 presidential hopeful isn’t the one to mince his words and often speaks without consequence. His inflammatory rhetoric challenged the legal system in unprecedented ways, and they’d have to coerce him into abiding by the rules of law, which, in most cases, backfired.
His Truth Social platform is infamous for such attacks on his political rivals, especially Democrat Joe Biden. On October 25, the former president wrote an open threat to the 80-year-old, citing unfair trials against him. He threatened Biden and his administration with the same, or much worse, treatment once they “assume office” in 2025.
He wrote, “This is a RIGGED TRIAL, right out of a Banana Republic, but sadly, it gives the Republicans the right to do the same thing when we assume office,” reported Radar Online. Trump also accused Biden of incompetence. “And remember, Crooked Joe Biden is the most CORRUPT (and Incompetent!) President in the history of the U.S.”
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A Notre Dame law school professor, Jimmy Gurule, said, “It’s really a new frontier for the legal system, and the legal system is really struggling with how to control this man who has no respect for the rule of law.”