Judge fines Donald Trump over €4,700 over post maligning court employee

New York law allows judges to impose fines or imprisonment as punishment for contempt

Donald Trump (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Donald Trump has been fined $5,000 (€4,720) after a disparaging social media post about a key court employee in his New York civil fraud case was allowed to linger on his campaign website after the judge ordered it deleted.

Judge Arthur Engoron avoided holding Trump in contempt for now, but reserved the right to do so — and possibly put him in jail — if he continued to violate a gagging order barring parties in the case from personal attacks on court staff.