On Monday, Judge Juan Merchan cited former President Donald Trump once more for breaking the trial’s gag order and threatened to put him in jail “if necessary” if he didn’t stop.
Trump was fined $9,000 by Merchan after he was found to have broken the gag order nine more times. When Merchan made that ruling, she forewarned Trump that jail time might follow any more orders that were broken. On Monday, the judge once again threatened to put him in jail and fined him $1,000 more for the additional infraction.
According to Merchan, “it doesn’t seem like the $1,000 fines are having any deterrent effect.”
“Putting you in jail is the last thing I want to do,” he continued. “You could be the next president of the United States as well as the country’s former president.”
“It’s a last resort for you for many reasons,” he said, adding that it would be “disruptive to the proceedings” to take that action.
However, Merchan issued a warning to Trump, saying that “his persistent deliberate disregard for this court’s orders poses a direct threat to the administration of justice and the rule of law.” That cannot go on, in my opinion.
Additionally, Merchan stated that the offensive statement needs to be taken down by 2:15 p.m. if it has been uploaded to Trump’s official campaign website or his Truth Social account.
According to Merchan’s ruling on Monday, Trump’s remarks from an interview last month—that the jury was “picked so fast” and “95% Democrats”—violated the gag order. Trump is not allowed to discuss the jury or witnesses with the intention of influencing their choices or testimony, according to the order.
“In doing so, Defendant not only called into doubt the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of those proceedings but again brought up the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors as well as their loved ones,” Merchan wrote.
Trump has maintained that Merchan’s gag order is unconstitutional and unfair on several occasions.
Trump said last week in the hallway, “This judge took away my constitutional right,” following his initial contempt of court ruling. “We’re filing, I believe today, a constitutional motion.”
He added, “If somebody states something about myself and I’m not allowed to reply, that’s never happened before.”
The former attorney of Trump, Michael Cohen, is scheduled to testify for the prosecution. Trump has been critical of Cohen on multiple occasions. Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, contended in court on Thursday that Trump ought to have the opportunity to reply in light of Cohen’s remarks about him. Additionally, he contended that Trump ought to be entitled to self-defense in his capacity as a presidential candidate, citing a statement made by President Joe Biden that seemed to refer to the matter.