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 president맥스카지노�s insistence that he was exercising his free speech rights and a reminder that he맥스카지노�s a criminal defendant subject to the harsh realities of trial procedure. And the judge맥스카지노�s remarkable threat to jail a former president signaled that Trump맥스카지노�s already precarious legal standing could further spiral depending on his behavior during the remainder of the trial.Trump did not respond to reporters맥스카지노� shouted inquiries about the fine in the courthouse hallway as court resumed for the afternoon.Merchan wrote that he is 맥스카지노�keenly aware of, and protective of,맥스카지노� Trump맥스카지노�s First Amendment rights, 맥스카지노�particularly given his candidacy for the office of President of the United States.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�It is critically important that defendant맥스카지노�s legitimate free speech rights not be curtailed, that he be able to fully campaign for the office which he seeks and that he be able to respond and defend himself against political attacks,맥스카지노� Merchan wrote.Still, he warned that the court would not tolerate "willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.맥스카지노�With that statement, the judge drew nearer the specter of Trump becoming the first former president of the United States behind bars. Trump is used to having constant access to his social media bullhorn to slam opponents and speak his mind. After he was banned from Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters, Trump launched his own platform, where his posts wouldn맥스카지노�t be blocked or restricted. And he has long tried to distance himself from controversial messages he맥스카지노�s amplified to his millions of followers by insisting they맥스카지노�re 맥스카지노�only retweets.맥스카지노� But he does have experience with gag orders, which were also imposed in his civil fraud trial. After he was found to have violated those orders, he paid more than $15,000 in fines.Tuesday's ruling came at the start of the second week of testimony in the historic case, in which Manhattan prosecutors argue Trump and his associates took part in an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by purchasing and then burying seamy stories. The payouts went to a doorman with a torrid yarn; former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who had accusations of an affair; and to porn performer Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump. He has pleaded not guilty and says the stories are all fake.Trump was ordered to pay the gag-order fine by the close of business Friday, and he deleted, as ordered, the offending posts from his Truth Social account and campaign website Tuesday. The judge was also weighing other alleged gag-order violations by Trump and will hear arguments Thursday. He also announced that he will halt the trial on May 17 to allow Trump to attend his son Barron's high school graduation.Of the 10 posts, the one Merchan ruled was not a violation came on April 10, a post referring to witnesses Michael Cohen and Daniels as 맥스카지노�sleaze bags." Merchan said Trump맥스카지노�s contention that he was responding to previous posts by Cohen 맥스카지노�is sufficient to give맥스카지노� him pause on whether the post was a violation. Those found to be violations included a Trump post quoting Fox News host Jesse Watters맥스카지노� claim that liberal activists were lying to infiltrate the jury 맥스카지노�constitutes a clear violation맥스카지노� of the gag order. Merchan noted that the words contained within the quotation marks in Trump맥스카지노�s April 17 post misstated what Watters actually said. Merchan cautioned that the gag order 맥스카지노�not be used as a sword instead of a shield by potential witnesses맥스카지노� and that if people who are protected by the order, like Cohen, continue to attack Trump 맥스카지노�it becomes apparent맥스카지노� they don맥스카지노�t need the gag order맥스카지노�s protection.Cohen, Trump맥스카지노�s former attorney, has said he will refrain from commenting about Trump until after he testifies at the trial. On Tuesday, he said in a text message to The Associated Press: 맥스카지노�The imposed fine is irrelevant. Judge Merchan맥스카지노�s decision elucidates that this behavior will not be tolerated and that no one is above the law."In other developments, testimony resumed Tuesday with Gary Farro, a banker who helped Cohen open accounts, including one that Cohen used to buy Daniels' silence.Jurors also began hearing from Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented McDougal and Daniels in their negotiations with the National Enquirer and Cohen. He testified that he arranged a meeting at his Los Angeles office to see whether the tabloid's parent company was interested in McDougal맥스카지노�s story. But Dylan Howard, the Enquirer맥스카지노�s then editor in chief, told him the tabloid wasn맥스카지노�t keen on the idea because she 맥스카지노�lacked documentary evidence of the interaction,맥스카지노� Davidson testified.A month after their initial lunch meeting, Howard reached out again to Davidson, suggesting they should resume discussions about the story. At the time, Davidson warned that American Media Inc., the Enquirer맥스카지노�s parent company, would need to move quickly.Davidson testified that McDougal was 맥스카지노�teetering맥스카지노� at the time he sent the message and was on the verge of signing a deal to tell her story to ABC News.Davidson told the jurors that he was playing the Enquirer and ABC News against each other to get the best deal for McDougal. The ex-Playboy model didn맥스카지노�t want to tell her story publicly, which would맥스카지노�ve been required if she went to ABC, he said.The tabloid eventually bought the story and buried it.Trump맥스카지노�s son Eric joined him Tuesday, the first time a family member has attended the criminal trial. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton walked into the courtroom with Trump and his entourage for the afternoon session.Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the hush money payments. The detailed evidence on business transactions and bank accounts is setting the stage for testimony from Cohen, who went to federal prison after pleading guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and other crimes.Last week, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker laid out how he agreed to serve as the Trump campaign's 맥스카지노�eyes and ears맥스카지노� by helping to squelch unflattering rumors and claims about Trump and women. Pecker described how he paid $180,000 to scoop up and sit on stories.Trump's attorneys have suggested that he was engaged in an effort to protect his name and his family 맥스카지노� not to influence the outcome of the presidential election.The trial 맥스카지노� the first of Trump's four criminal cases to come before a jury 맥스카지노� is expected to last for another month or more. And with every moment Trump is in court, he's growing increasingly frustrated while the November election moves ever closer.맥스카지노�This is a case that should have never been brought,맥스카지노� he said.