Former President Trump is once again found in contempt by Judge Juan Merchan for his tenth violation of the gag order in his hush money prosecution. Going forward, Trump is rumored to be considering jail time.
Court officials will have to think about a prison sentence moving ahead, Merchan stated on Monday.
The last thing I want to do is send you to prison, Mr. Trump. That should be crystal clear. You have served as president of the US and could serve again in the future,” Merchan remarked.
“I am fully aware of the gravity of this decision, but ultimately, I must attend to my duties,” the judge remarked. “So, even though I prefer not to, I must make it clear that I will impose a jail sanction if deemed appropriate and necessary.”
Trump was ordered by Merchan to pay a $1,000 fine for the violation, which is due by Friday at the end of business. Trump was fined $9,000 last week by the judge for nine prior violations of the gag order.
A fine of up to $1,000 or 30 days in jail, or both, may be imposed for violations of the gag order.
The defendant is prohibited from discussing prospective witnesses or anybody else connected to the court or the district attorney’s office in New York by the gag order.
As Trump continues to face trial in New York for hush money, a contempt order has been issued. Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records, according to the prosecution. The purpose of these papers is to conceal the manner in which Michael Cohen was reimbursed for paying Stormy Daniels $130,000 to be silent before the 2016 election. The president has denied the affair and pleaded not guilty.
“Unconstitutional and un-American” was the description given by Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung in his statement, which also slammed the court and his decision.
“President Trump has not violated this wrongful edict by a partisan operative,” he stated. “Crooked Joe Biden and his comrades use a Third World authoritarian tactic typical of the United States to threaten to jail the 45th President and the leading candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election for exercising his First Amendment rights.”
Judges’ potential choices
According to AWN legal analyst Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Merchan does not have to put Trump in jail if she so chooses. For example, he may begin with a brief courthouse detention period.
Among his choices is the possibility of putting him in for an hour or two. Behind the courthouse, she mentioned, there is a holding cell.
“He might just cast him for the day. Maybe he could fit him in during lunch. That way, he could ease into it rather than cram him in all at once.
Trump discussed the jury’s composition.
According to Monday’s contempt verdict, Trump broke the gag order by discussing the jury’s composition in this case.
The interview with “Just the News No Noise” on Real America’s Voice, which Trump did on April 22, was when he made the remarks. The judge is moving the trial along at a breakneck pace, as you well know. No one has ever witnessed something like this. So quickly—95% Democrats—was that jury selected. Almost everyone in the neighborhood is a Democrat. You picture it as a district that is completely Democratic. My word to you, it’s a really unfair scenario,” Trump declared.
The judge ruled in writing that the remarks were in violation of the gag order.
“The defendant’s public statements regarding the jury and its selection process constitute a violation of the order,” Merchan stated. “Disguising the legitimacy of these proceedings and casting doubt on their integrity, the defendant once again stoked fears for the safety of the jurors and their families.”
Furthermore, the verdict makes the prospect of future jail term crystal obvious.
“Merchan stated that monetary fines have not and will not be sufficient to deter Defendant from violating this Court’s lawful orders” because to the fact that this is the eleventh time the defendant has been convicted in criminal contempt across three different motions. “THEREFORE, Defendant is hereby warned that, should the need arise, any future disobedience to its lawful orders may result in jail time.”
The gag order was not violated by any other comments.
On four separate occasions, prosecutors said that Trump broke the gag order; these included comments against the jury, David Pecker, and Michael Cohen. The judge found that none of the other three remarks were in violation of the order.
A judge concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the disputed statement was a concealed threat to Mr. Pecker or any other witnesses, given the current circumstances.