Trump fined $1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as ex-employee recounts reimbursements

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial fined him $1,000 on Monday and warned of jail time for future gag order violations while jurors heard testimony for the first time about the financial reimbursements at the center of the case. The testimony from Jeffrey McConney, the former Trump Organization controller, provided a mechanical but also vital recitation of how the company came to reimburse payments meant to suppress embarrassing stories from surfacing during the 2016 presidential campaign and then record them in internal ledgers as legal expenses in a manner that Manhattan prosecutors said broke the law.