Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Thursday released a written order detailing why he determined Donald Trump’s Wednesday sworn testimony denying that he attacked a court clerk “rings hollow and untrue” after he fined the former president $10,000 for his second violation of a partial gag order meant to protect courtroom staff.

The former president had claimed on the witness stand that he had been referring to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen as the “partisan” sitting “alongside” Engoron when he spoke to reporters outside the courtroom on Wednesday. But the judge was unconvinced, deeming that excuse “not credible.”

“Witnesses do not sit ‘alongside’ the judge, they sit in the witness box, separated from the judge by a low wooden barrier,” Engoron wrote in the order, obtained by The Messenger. “Further, Donald Trump’s past public statements demonstrate him referring to Michael Cohen directly by his name, or by a derogatory name, but in all circumstances, he is unambiguous in making it known he is referring to Michael Cohen.”

He added: “Using imprecise language as an excuse to create plausible ambiguity about whether defendant violated this Court’s unequivocal gag order is not a defense; the subject of Donald Trump’s public statement to the press was unmistakably clear.”

  • @[email protected]
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    962 years ago

    “Using imprecise language as an excuse to create plausible ambiguity about whether defendant violated this Court’s unequivocal gag order is not a defense; the subject of Donald Trump’s public statement to the press was unmistakably clear.”

    • @[email protected]
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      332 years ago

      “Using imprecise language as an excuse to create plausible ambiguity about whether defendant violated this Court’s unequivocal gag order is not a defense; the subject of Donald Trump’s public statement to the press was unmistakably clear.”

      Its also a harken back to what Cohen said. That he doesn’t say things explicitly. He asks like a mob boss asks.

  • @[email protected]
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    12 years ago

    I am no fan of trump but you guys are a bunch of puppets. You hate whoever you’re told to hate. With great enthusiasm.

    • @[email protected]
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      82 years ago

      If asked to, he’d shit out a minute or two of word salad without answering the question, as Cult 45 smugly nods along.

  • uphillbothways
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    2 years ago

    Every time he gets fined he pulls millions in donations. Throw his ass in the can. Keep him there until his legal troubles are sorted. He’s facing 90 something felonies. (think I’ve seen 91 and/or 94 different charges referred to.)

    He should still be able to make most of his court appearances from MDC Brooklyn. They’ve dealt with high profile inmates plenty of times. Stop letting him play the legal system like a fiddle for personal gain.

    • @[email protected]
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      202 years ago

      I honestly think the next time he runs afoul of the gag order he’ll get a few days for contempt. Whether they’ll be immediately suspended pending appeal I don’t know, but it’s one of the things a judge can do to enforce order immediately and without a lot of oversight. There’s case after case of some perp mouthing off to the judge and immediately earning a few weeks in jail and Trump has had $15k worth of warnings now. The next offense should be a hotel stay.

        • @[email protected]
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          12 years ago

          Yes. If it’s criminal, it can be appealed. I think however that the judge will make very sure that the violation is obvious. Considering Trump’s defense (“I wasn’t talking about your aide, I was talking about Cohen”) and the fact the judge considered it, called bullshit on it, and left the $10k fine in place demonstrates that the judge has no patience for Trump’s usual line of bullshit. Trump now knows that a) court staff are not to be criticized and b) being intentionally vague is not going to save him. The next time Trump crosses the line will be far more perilous.

    • FuglyDuck
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      72 years ago

      Between Georgia RICO and the DC and Florida trials stemming from Jack Smith’s investigation, he’s facing 91 charges.

      The NY trial is, as far as I’m aware, civil.

  • ohmyiv
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    322 years ago

    When are we going to start having mental health/psychological examinations for our politicians? I feel that should be a minimum requirement.

    • @[email protected]
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      72 years ago

      I would settle for candidates being able to pass a security clearance check. It is what our founders intended when they demanded that presidents not be foreign born.

          • Heresy_generator
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            2 years ago

            It’s so weird that people exist out there that hold strong opinions about Biden’s ability to speak but never actually watch him make statements, answer questions from the press, or give interviews. I guess having to actually see reality would shatter the delusions you’ve been fed by propaganda outlets and we can’t have that.

    • BoofStroke
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      192 years ago

      A TS/SCI background investigation would cover it. One would think the commander in chief should be able to hold a security clearance. Then there’s Ivanka and Jared with China and the Saudis. But hunter biden did what?

    • Neato
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      162 years ago

      That would be abused as quickly as a poll test would.

  • @[email protected]
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    152 years ago

    Good on the judge.

    Scumbags like Trump thrive in the gaps and ambiguities that normal decency shouldn’t have to fill. They break down standards of decency that shouldn’t have to be codified.

    Authoritarians and people who need authority will do anything they can get away with - but we can’t write laws for every single little scheme anyone could ever come to up with.

    We need guiding principles and a respect for the spirit of the law.

    Trump tried to play innocent but it doesn’t count in the courtroom.

    His audience can’t help him in there.

      • @[email protected]
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        92 years ago

        You joke, but he’s literally following in the guys footsteps. The beer hall putsch was 10 years before he became chancellor.

        The guy who’s on the loose here in Maine’s Twitter likes were full of drumpf Jr, tucker and elmo musk.

        Domestic terrorism is the real price we’re paying. My kids can’t go to our usual group Halloween thing this year because it may be the unlucky gathering he attacks next. Shits real for some of us.

  • @[email protected]
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    402 years ago

    Trump melts down

    FINALLY!

    on Truth Social

    …oh. Guess the celebrations will have to be postponed again.

  • Grant_M
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    612 years ago

    Why doesn’t the crybaby bonespur loser just shut up and stop committing crimes for once? 😄

      • @[email protected]
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        32 years ago

        For real, they love to fall in line behind a “strong man,” but trump literally does nothing but cry. It’s like his whole schtick. I don’t get it at all?!

        • Grant_M
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          42 years ago

          I always recall Cawthorne talking about the cocaine orgies…

        • Hemingways_Shotgun
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          462 years ago

          I think if Trump had direct dirt on them, he’s too stupid to not blab it out at some point during all the infantile name-calling he calls “campaigning”.

          More likely is that Putin has kompromat on most of the GOP, and the threat of ol’ Putin-on-the-Blitz giving that information to Trump is what allows him to hold on to their short and curlies.

          • Jazzy Vidalia
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            82 years ago

            The people that vote for the GOP would probably not give two shits about the kompromat. Were talking about a party of criminals, rapists, pedophiles, crooks, grifters, grafters, racketeers, and every other thing you can think of. If anything, their voters love it. They see hypocrisy as a display of power—a flex. It’s a manner of “owning the libs.” The only thing the kompromat would do is serve to embarrass and shame, assuming they still have any sense if shame. And if they have no shame, it is to their benefit to embrace and show it off.

            We are dealing with a party that revels in wickedness. The only thing more powerful than kompromat is the words of the leader, the Orange Menace himself. If Donald Trump wanted to burn someone he’d just say something and his sycophants would believe it mostly without question.

        • mosiacmango
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          2 years ago

          It’s pretty simple. He gets votes. Votes let them personally get money. Everything is on the table if it gets votes.

          They will do anything to get votes because votes make them money personally, either directly with tax cuts, or via bribes for tax cuts.

          Thats it.

        • Hemingways_Shotgun
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          2 years ago

          it’s funny that I would have expected Colbert to have the best insights/humour in their Trump bits.

          But instead it’s Seth Meyers, who i never liked on SNL but who absolutely shines with his political stuff, and Kimmel, who are leading the way.

          Of course that’s not including Oliver, because no one is on Oliver’s level.

          Fallon is a joke in comparison.

      • TechyDad
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        62 years ago

        Trump is very good at one thing: riling up the MAGA faithful. And this is pretty much the entire GOP base now. So if you go against him, he’ll just post that you’re a RINO on Truth Social or denigrate you at a rally. Then, MAGA will push to get you primaried by someone Trump approves of.

        The GOP locked themselves into the room with MAGA and made them the GOP’s base. Now, they find that they can’t do anything Trump opposes because he controls MAGA. Even if he sends a crowd of MAGA to kill them, they need to reply with “thank you, sir, for almost getting us killed. We deserved that.”

    • @[email protected]
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      62 years ago

      Whoa, that’s a radical idea.

      I remain convinced he would have been reeleected in a landslide if he had just said, “Listen to Dr. Fauci.” But he can’t; his ego is out of control.