The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money election interference criminal trial found the former president in contempt – again – for violating his gag order that bars him from attacking jurors, witnesses and court staff and said the next infraction could land him in jail.
“It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent,” Judge Juan Merchan told Trump ahead of the start of the fourth week of his trial. “The last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well.”
“So as much as I do not want to propose a jail sanction,” he said. “I will, if necessary.”
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“At the end of the day, I have a job to do.”
Prosecutors presented to the judge last week four instances in which they believed Trump violated his gag order, including remarks made about two witnesses – Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer for the hush money payments, and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker – as well as a comment that the jury is “95% Democrats” and present a “very unfair situation.”
Merchan found him in contempt of just one of those proposed violations and fined him $1,000 – the highest fine a judge can impose under New York State law. Last week, the judge found Trump in contempt for nine violations of his gag order and fined him $9,000 ($1,000 for each of the violations).
At the time, the judge warned Trump that any additional violations would force him to “consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”
Yet Trump continues to flirt with the boundaries of the gag order. Speaking to reporters on Monday morning before entering the courtroom, Trump railed against the trial and said that the witnesses they’re calling “have nothing to do with the case.”
“They have absolutely no case,” he said. “Even the witnesses they want to bring up, they have nothing to do with the case. This is a ridiculous situation, not fair.”
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business documents to cover up allegations of extramarital affairs that threatened his 2016 White House campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty.
To date, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team has been building a narrative that lays the groundwork for the big cover-up, calling in a series of high-profile witnesses to attest to the conspiracy to prevent any negative news about Trump from leaking and potentially sinking his candidacy for president. Bragg’s team must prove a concerted effort to cover up the hush money payments, even though Trump is not charged with conspiracy.
As the fourth week gets underway, the prosecution is expected to shift its focus to the actual crimes charged: The falsification of business documents. Instead of a front-row seat to the tabloid industry and Trump’s inner circle, jurors will likely hear from finance experts and the former president’s money men, as well as see a lot of paperwork entered into the record as the prosecution tries to draw a straight line between the Trump White House and his business, and prove that Trump knew about the payments.