Trump fundraises off of NY judge's $9,000 contempt order

Former President Donald Trump has begun fundraising off of Judge Juan Merchan's decision to hold him in contempt over violations of a gag order he imposed as part of his ongoing criminal trial.

In the wake of the decision, a Trump campaign email relayed a message from the former president, fuming over Merchan's move and inviting contributions to his campaign.

"I was fined $9,000 for 9 gag order violations. THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME! They think they can BLEED ME DRY and SHUT ME UP, but I’ll NEVER stop fighting for YOU," it read, according to Politico. The message was followed by a link to donate.

Merchan, on Tuesday, imposed the $9,000 fine on Trump over his Truth Social posts, levying a $1,000 fine for each violation. He issued the gag order at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has charged Trump with falsifying business records in connection with a 2016 payment his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, made to Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty.

Trump has previously capitalized on his myriad legal woes. In April, he circulated a fundraising email over New York Attorney General Letitia James's effort to see his $175 million bond thrown out as part of an unrelated civil fraud case.

"Despite posting an unprecedented $175 MILLION DOLLAR BOND just to defend myself, Crooked AG Letitia James is trying to have it REJECTED," he said in that email. "THESE THUGS ONLY WANT ONE THING: THE ICONIC TRUMP TOWER!"

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