What would happen if Musk tries to defy court orders? [View all]

Source: ABC News

What would happen if Musk tries to defy court orders?

A constitutional law expert says the fines would pile up pretty quickly.

ByPeter Charalambous
February 9, 2025, 7:39 PM

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With Musk now flirting with the idea of defying court orders or targeting judges, the third branch of government might soon confront an unprecedented scenario in modern history -- the president of the United States openly and willingly disobeying a court order.

While such a challenge is yet to materialize, the federal courts have a few options to enforce their orders, according to constitutional law professor Justin Levitt, who previously served as a senior policy adviser in the Biden administration.

The first option that the courts yield is exponentially escalating fines that could not only target someone like Elon Musk but also the young employees working for DOGE.

"Those sanctions can be quick and swiftly painful," Levitt said. "You owe me $1,000 today, double it tomorrow, double it the next day, double it again the next day, double it again the next day. Exponential curves are not kind, and that'll start adding up to a whole bunch of real money for which a 25-year-old is going to be liable."

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Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/happen-musk-defy-court-orders/story?id=118628274