Judge Again Holds Trump in Contempt

The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush-money trial has fined him $1,000 for violating his gag order and warned the former president that an additional violation could result in jail time, per the AP. The fine marks the second sanction for Trump for inflammatory comments about witnesses since the start of the trial last month. He was fined $9,000 last week for nine violations. Judge Juan Merchan warned Monday that additional gag order violations could potentially result in jail time, though he said that was "the last thing I want to do."

But "at the end of the day, I have a job to do," the judge added, per the New York Times. "Part of that job is to protect the dignity of the justice system." The trial enters its third week of testimony Monday with prosecutors building toward their star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments. Cohen is expected to undergo a bruising cross-examination from defense attorneys seeking to undermine his credibility with jurors. (More Trump hush-money trial stories.)