Former President Trump was fined $10,000 on Wednesday for violating the partial gag order imposed by New York Judge Arthur Engoron in the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization.

Engoron imposed a partial gag order earlier this month, blocking all parties from making derogatory statements about his court staff. Engoron fined Trump on Friday $5,000 for violating the order on social media, and threatened imprisonment if further violations were committed.

NEW YORK JUDGE FINES TRUMP $5K FOR VIOLATING PARTIAL GAG ORDER IN CIVIL FRAUD TRIAL

On Wednesday, Engoron asked that the former president take the stand during the civil trial, and discussed statements Trump made to the press earlier in the day about "a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside" the judge. 

When Engoron asked who Trump was referring to, the former president replied: "You and Cohen." Trump was referring to Engoron and Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who took the stand and testified against him on Tuesday. 

The judge pressed him again, and asked if he was sure he was not referring to his clerk.

"Yes I’m sure," Trump said.

Engoron said that, in the past, Trump had criticized and referred to his clerk.

"I think she’s very unfair," Trump said, adding that she is "biased against us." 

But Engoron said his principal clerk "is very close to me," and ruled, instead, that Trump was referring to his law clerk. 

Engoron fined Trump $10,000, which he said is, "on the liberal side."

JUDGE IMPOSES PARTIAL GAG ORDER IN TRUMP ORG. TRIAL BLOCKING PARTIES FROM VERBAL ATTACKS AGAINST COURT STAFF

Trump attorneys argued against the fine, saying it was unusual to have a law clerk on the bench with the judge. Attorney Alina Habba calling it "inappropriate." 

Habba said the clerk rolled her eyes, to which Habba said: "The influence from your bench is inappropriate." 

Engoron fired back saying: "I make the final decisions. I value input from both of my law clerks." 

In regard to the clerks sitting next to him, he says, "that’s how I do things."

Engoron ultimately ruled that Trump was referring to his clerk, and fined him $10,000. 

The partial gag order was imposed earlier this month after Trump posted on his Truth Social account saying that Engoron's law clerk had a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The post also contained a photo. Trump added that because of that, the case "should be dismissed immediately." 

Trump told Engoron he had deleted the post, but the judge discovered a copy of the post remained on Trump's campaign website. Engoron fined Trump $5,000 on Friday. 

TRUMP JUDGE FACES ONLINE BACKLASH AFTER SMILING, POSING FOR CAMERAS IN COURTROOM: 'PARTISAN DEMOCRAT CLOWN'

"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," Engoron said in a filing Friday. 

The trial comes after James, a Democrat, brought a lawsuit against Trump last year alleging he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets. James claimed Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, as well as his associates and businesses, committed "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation" on their financial statements.

Engoron, last month, ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

Engoron’s ruling came after James sued Trump, his children and the Trump Organization, alleging that the former president "inflated his net worth by billions of dollars," and said his children helped him to do so.

The House of Representatives chose Rep. Mike Johnson to serve as speaker on Wednesday following the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the role over three weeks ago.

House Republicans selected Johnson, R-La., as their fourth speaker nominee late Tuesday after their past three nominees to lead the chamber dropped out of the race.

Johnson was elected House speaker by a chamber-wide vote Wednesday afternoon, following weeks of closed-door negotiating within the House Republican Conference after McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed as speaker of the House on Oct. 3 in a historic first for the chamber.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO HOLD 3RD INTERNAL VOTE TO FIND SPEAKER CANDIDATE 3 WEEKS AFTER MCCARTHY OUSTER

The House Republican Conference initially voted to select House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as their nominee for speaker on a secret ballot, but he later withdrew. 

Then, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was selected as the speaker nominee in a second conference vote, but the conference later voted to remove him after he failed three House-wide votes.

House Republicans considered a move to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry that would give the interim speaker expanded power through January, but that effort also failed. 

By Tuesday, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer had been selected as the House Republican Conference's nominee for speaker, but by Tuesday afternoon, Emmer had dropped out of the race ahead of a formal floor vote. 

Emmer's drop out came shortly after a blistering attack on Truth Social from former President Trump, who called him a "globalist RINO," or, Republican In Name Only, and warned House Republicans that electing him speaker would be a "tragic mistake." 

After Emmer's drop out, Johnson, along with Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Charles Fleischmann, R-Tenn.; Mark Green, R-Tenn., all were possible nominees. Johnson won the nomination Tuesday night. 

Trump didn't formally endorse any of the candidates in the next round, posting on his Truth Social account that he "could never go against any of these fine and very talented men, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory." 

But in that post, Trump "strongly" urged House Republicans to vote for Johnson on the floor and "get it done fast." 

Later Wednesday morning, Trump said Johnson would be a "fantastic speaker," and said he is "respected by all and that’s what we need."

 "He’s popular, smart, sharp. He’s going to be fantastic. I think he’s going to be a fantastic speaker," Trump said ahead of the floor vote Tuesday. 

Johnson has been in politics since 2015 when he was elected to the state House, where he stayed until 2017.

The son of a firefighter, Johnson was elected to Congress in the 2016 election and serves on the House Judiciary and Armed Services Committees.

Johnson is currently in his second term as the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference. The Louisiana Republican previously served one term as the influential Republican Study Committee chairman.

Johnson is an ally of former President Donald Trump and defended him during the Democrat-led House impeachment hearings. He also filed an amicus brief co-signed of 100 House Republicans to support Texas litigation seeking to overturn the 2020 election results in four states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He was the Chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee at the time. 

"President Trump called me this morning to let me know how much he appreciates the amicus brief we are filing on behalf of Members of Congress," Johnson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Dec. 9, 2020. "Indeed, ‘this is the big one!’"

The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, tried to buy more time with the Supreme Court to allow investigations of purported voting issues to continue before the final electoral vote in the four swing states. The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit. 

On several other issues, Johnson has aligned with the most conservative lawmakers in the caucus.

Last month, he voted against H.R. 5692, the Ukraine Security Assistance and Oversight Supplemental Appropriations Act, which passed. The bill appropriates federal dollars to assist Ukraine's military in its defense against Russia and establishes an inspector general's office to oversee aid. 

Additionally, he opposed the temporary spending measure, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), aligning with 90 other House Republicans, at the Sept. 30 deadline. He also supported measures to bolster border security within the CR, which aimed to restrict eligibility for asylum seekers. The bill did not garner enough support to pass.

In June, Johnson voted in favor of a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden. 

Prior to joining Congress, Johnson worked as a lawyer and was the senior spokesperson for the conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom.

This was the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

McCarthy’s ouster came after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against him known as a motion to vacate, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker's gavel in January.