While this fine holds little financial consequences for someone as rich as Trump, it certainly marks a new reality for a former president who has no respect for the rule of law. As the leading Republican candidate uses his free speech rights to capitalize politically on efforts to hold him accountable and acts in contempt of court, the legal system will be tested in unprecedented ways to rein in such a reckless defendant.
This nonsensical fine only confirms that Engoron is indeed a partisan judge who is colluding with far-left New York Attorney General Letitia James in a fraud case that has neither a victim nor a single credible witness. Trump was clearly referring to Michael Cohen, a convicted felon who went to jail for lying, but somehow, the judge stubbornly claims it was to his principal law clerk.