Trump takes witness stand in New York fraud case, fined $10,000

Former President Donald Trump took the witness stand in a New York civil fraud case to respond to claims he violated a gag order against discussing the court staff.

Judge Arthur Engoron imposed the gag order against Trump in early October after he previously posted an image of the court clerk, whom he referred to as "Schumer's girlfriend." 

Trump on Wednesday responded to allegations that he had violated the gag order by calling Engoron a "very partisan judge with a person who is very partisan sitting alongside him, perhaps even more partisan than he is," The Hill reported.

Engoron asked Trump to whom he had referred, to which the former president replied "You and Cohen," referencing his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Trump then confirmed that he had not referred to the court clerk.

The judge imposed a $10,000 fine for violating the gag order.

He previously threatened to hold Trump in contempt after learning that the original Truth Social post about the law clerk remained on his campaign website despite the gag order. Engoron imposed a $5,000 fine for that violation but warned he would be less lenient in the future.

"Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him," he said.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.