Judge raises threat of jail in hush money trial as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him $9,000

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.

Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. Trump stared down at the table in front of him as the judge read the ruling, frowning slightly.

It was a stinging rebuke of the Republican former president's insistence that he was exercising his free speech rights and a reminder that he's a criminal defendant subject to the harsh realities of trial procedure. The judge's suggestion that he may jail the former president signaled that Trump's already precarious legal standing could further spiral depending on his behavior during the trial.