Trump civil fraud case: Judge fines Trump $354M, says frauds 'shock the conscience'

Trump defense lawyers Chris Kise, Clifford Robert, and Michael Farina have appealed Judge Arthur Engoron's decision to sanction and fine them for making frivolous arguments during pretrial arguments.

On the eve of trial, Engoron sanctioned the attorneys for their "continued reliance on bogus arguments," and ordered each to pay a $7,500 fine.

"Sanctions are the only way to impress upon defendants' attorneys the consequences of engaging in repetitive, frivolous motion practice after this Court," Engoron wrote in his decision at the time.

In their filing, the lawyers have asked an appeals court to determine if Engoron "committed errors of law and/or fact, abused its discretion, and/or acted in excess of its jurisdiction."

Former President Trump's civil fraud trial is adjourned until Tuesday due to COVID-19 exposures, the New York attorney general's office has announced.

Officials did not say who had been exposed or when.

Trump attended the trial on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week and said on Wednesday that he could return to court for the testimony of his former attorney Michael Cohen, which could begin tomorrow.

The trial is scheduled to continue tomorrow morning with testimony from a lawyer at Trump's former accounting firm, Mazars USA, followed by Cohen.

Week Three of the trial concluded on Friday with Judge Engoron fining Trump $5,000 for violating a gag order the judge had issued prohibiting social media posts and statements about the judge's staff.

While Engoron found that Trump's violation was "inadvertent," he threatened additional fines or possibly even jail time if Trump violated the order again.

Judge Engoron has fined Donald Trump $5,000 for what the judge called Trump's "inadvertent" violation of his limited gag order that occurred when the former president's false Truth Social post about Engoron's clerk was not removed from Trump's campaign website.

"Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order," Engoron wrote in a ruling after court had ended for the day. "He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it. Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is no longer appropriate; this Court is way beyond the 'warning' stage."

The judge said he decided to impose a nominal $5,000 fine "given defendant's position that the violation was inadvertent."

However, the judge wrote, "Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include, but are not limited to, steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him pursuant to New York Judiciary Law 753."

The trial adjourned until Monday without Judge Engoron determining what penalty, if any, Trump will face after the judge said Trump violated his limited gag order by not removing a false Truth Social post about Engoron's clerk from his campaign website.

Prior to adjournment, former Trump Organization vice president Raymond Flores testified about his limited role in reviewing Trump’s 2020 statement of financial condition and assessing the value of Trump’s golf courses.

Flores, who had a limited recollection of events, is expected to return to the witness stand to complete his testimony on Monday.