Judge in hush money trial threatens Trump with jail after holding him in contempt for violating gag order
www.nbcnews.com
Judge Juan Merchan warned that if Trump continues to violate the order, he could impose “an incarceratory punishment.”

Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office accused Trump of violating the gag order numerous times since it went into effect.

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money case on Tuesday held the former president in criminal contempt over a series of posts on Truth Social that he said violated a gag order barring any attacks on jurors and witnesses.

Judge Juan Merchan ruled Trump in contempt for nine violations of his gag order, with a fine of $1,000 for each instance. The order prohibits the former president from “making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding,” and “public statements about any prospective juror or any juror.”

Merchan had indicated on April 23 that he was not impressed by the arguments from the defense, telling one of Trump’s attorneys that he was “losing all credibility” when he suggested that Trump was exercising caution to comply with the gag order.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
      1111·
      7 个月前

      The maximum fine in NY for this is $1,000 per infraction. If it continues, the judge could sentence jail time but the fine would remain the same.

        • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
          35·
          7 个月前

          The judge addressed that concern specifically and said that when $1k isn’t sufficient to cow a contemnor, detention should be imposed.

          • meleecrits@lemmy.world
            352·
            7 个月前

            This is key. If he jailed him right away, his attorneys would call for a mistrial saying the judge was biased against him and they would probably succeed in getting the trial thrown out. It would still go on with another judge, but when the tactic is delay, they win.

            This is the first step towards jail for contempt. There can be no doubt Trump is maliciously violating the gag order.

            That said, I have little doubt some 11th hour fuckery will happen to prevent him from being jailed.

            • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
              41·
              7 个月前

              The Supreme Court will stop all of the democracy dismantling they are doing to say the do-nad can’t be imprisoned.

        • HocEnimVeni@lemmy.world
          322·
          7 个月前

          It’s like handicap parking spots, it’s basically just a super expensive reserved parking spot that every parking lot is legally required to have.

      • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
        36·
        7 个月前

        And the judge acknowledged that point in his statement. Pointed out that other types of violations allow the guilty party’s wealth to be taken into account, but this charge doesn’t. Also pointed out that ignoring this sentence and doing future violations are mush more likely to lead to jail time.

        .

        Despite Trump’s whining about everything being unfair to him, and the public saying this is a slap on the wrist, the judge is taking the legally appropriate and legally required steps.

        • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
          25·
          7 个月前

          Correct. Merchan is smart to stay by the book in order to prevent providing cause for Trump’s defense to claim mistrial. The prosecution recommended the maximum fine, which was honored. Merchan then set the grounds for possible jail time for future infractions.

          • azimir
            1·
            7 个月前

            Isn’t there already another gag violation hearing on the docket for violations done while awaiting the first gag violation hearing and/or when we were awaiting the decision from the first violation hearing?

            • Furbag@lemmy.world
              3·
              7 个月前

              Yes. It’s unclear if the remaining 4 infractions that will be heard on Thursday will be grouped with these first 10 or if they will be ruled on separately. My bet is that since these happened before he issued his warning to Trump about future infractions resulting in incarceration, they will also carry the maximum $1000 penalty if found to have been violated. But from today on Trump is officially on notice that any violation of the gag order will be a grounds for imprisonment.

    • snooggums@midwest.socialEnglish
      312·
      7 个月前

      Yes and no.

      The amount is insignificant in the monetary sense, but shows the court can actually enforce a gag order. Hopefully further violations result in far more significant contempt punishments such as throwing his ass in jail, but it is a start.

      • plz1@lemmy.worldEnglish
        12·
        7 个月前

        It’s not enforcement if he can pay it with pocket change, it’s just a slight annoyance. Enforcement would be taking his means of breaking the gag order away (his access to social media).