Explosive Revelation: Trump Fraud Trial Judge Warns of Prison Time for Gag Order Violation

The judge presiding over Donald Trump's civil fraud trial reprimanded the attorneys representing the former president for a flagrant breach of a gag order and hinted that such violations could lead to incarceration. Judge Arthur Engoron expressed his disappointment, stating that despite explicitly instructing the removal of a social media post targeting his clerk, he discovered that the mentioned post had not been taken down from the website.

Engoron stated that the content had been present on the website for the past 17 days and was only removed recently in response to an email. The post was taken down from Truth Social immediately after the gag order was imposed, but it still remains on DonaldJTrump.com, the official website of Trump's campaign.

In this file photo taken on Oct. 10, 2023, Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro appears before Judge Scott MacAfee during a motions hearing in Atlanta. The trial for Chesebro, the first defendant in the Georgia case accusing former President Donald Trump and others of illegally plotting to reverse the state's 2020 election results, is about to begin with jury selection. (Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP, File)

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The judge implied that there could be severe consequences, such as financial penalties or imprisonment, for the former president due to the blatant violation of the gag order.

Trump attorney Chris Kise apologized to Engoron, acknowledging that it was an unintentional oversight for the post to remain accessible on what he referred to as a lesser-known section of Trump's campaign website.

"It seems that nobody removed the ICYMI link from the campaign website's hidden pages," Kise stated.

"Truly this appears to be inadvertent," Kise said, adding, "I certainly apologize on behalf of my clients."

On August 6, 2022, in Dallas, Texas, at the Hilton Anatole, former U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). CPAC, which originated in 1974, is a renowned conference that gathers conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to engage in discussions about current events and future political agendas.

Contrasting with this event, on August 1, 2023, at a Department of Justice office in Washington, special counsel Jack Smith addressed the public regarding an indictment of former President Donald Trump.

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Kise attributed the incident to the campaign's extensive machinery and assured the judge that Trump had instructed the removal of the post.

"There was no deliberate effort to avoid, bypass, or disregard the order," Kise clarified, refraining from elaborating on the matter and stating that no additional content has been shared on Trump's Truth Social website.

Kise confirmed on Thursday night and Friday morning that the post had been removed. According to him, it seems to be a problem within the campaign itself.

"It is a procedure that is integrated into the campaign structure, from my understanding. These Truth posts are bundled together and distributed," explained Kise.

Engoron said, "I will take this under advisement. I want to make clear that Donald Trump is still responsible for the large machine, even if it is a large machine."

A November 19, 2020 photo shows Sidney Powell speaking during a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC.

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On October 3, during the second day of the trial, Engoron imposed a partial gag order prohibiting all parties from discussing any court staff members. This decision was made after Trump's post on Truth Social, in which he attacked Engoron's clerk by falsely suggesting she was romantically involved with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. Trump even posted a picture of the two together. Engoron warned that failure to comply with the order would lead to severe penalties.

Ivanka Trump attempts to quash subpoena

In an effort to dismiss a subpoena, Ivanka Trump argues that she is not subject to the court's jurisdiction. She asserts that she is not a party to the case and has not been a resident of New York for the past seven years. This motion was filed on Thursday.

The daughter of the former president was initially a defendant in the lawsuit. However, earlier this year, a New York appeals court dismissed her from the case because her alleged conduct fell outside the statute of limitations.

The motion argues that it is unreasonable to expect Ms. Trump, who is not a party to the case and does not live in New York, to appear at trial and provide unrestricted live testimony. The New York Attorney General (NYAG) intends to seek testimony from Ms. Trump on a wide range of topics, without specifying any limitations or timeframe.

"The motion also stated that the NYAGs Subpoenas lack clear instructions on the specific information they are requesting and the reason for seeking it. They also demand testimony that goes beyond the timeline of the discovery phase, which the NYAG could have obtained earlier. Additionally, the motion argues that the subpoenas place a burdensome and improper obligation on Ms. Trump to address apparent gaps in the NYAGs case."