“I find you in criminal contempt for the 10th time.”
Days after finding Donald Trump in contempt of court and fining him $9,000, Judge Juan Merchan once again ruled that the former president has violated his court-imposed gag order. He fined him an additional $1,000 and once again warned him that continued violations will result in jail time.
“It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent,” Merchan told the former president on Monday. “The last thing I want to do is to put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next president as well. There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for you.”
“So as much as I do not want to propose a jail sanction,” Merchan warned. “That I will, if necessary.”
Last week, the Merchan ruled on a slate of alleged breaches of the order raised by prosecutors. Trump was found to have broken the court-imposed rule in 9 out of the 10 instances flagged by the prosecution and fined $9,000 — $1,000 for each violation. Trump was further ordered to delete the offending social media posts from his accounts.
In a second hearing held Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors presented four additional alleged violations of a limited gag order barring Trump from publicly commenting on court staff, prosecutors, prospective jurors, or their families.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy argued before the judge that Trump’s public comments regarding the jury selection process created “an air of menace” around the trial. During jury selection, Trump quoted Fox News host Jesse Watters in a Truth Social post, who claimed that “they are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump jury.”
In a terse exchange that seemed to elicit a surprised reaction from the former president, Trump’s attorneys agreed with Merchan that there was no need for Trump to speak with the gaggles of reporters gathered daily at the court.
“When those statements were made, it was your client who went down into that holding area and stood in front of the press and started to speak,” Merchan said. “Nobody forced your client to go stand where he did that day.”
Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, agreed, causing Trump to turn around in his seat and stare down his lawyer, The Washington Post reported.
While prosecutors made clear in Thursday’s hearing that they are “not yet seeking jail” as a penalty for the former president, Merchan warned Trump on Tuesday that “the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment,” echoing past warnings to the former president that he will not hesitate to revoke his bail if he’s unable to comply with court rules.
As previously reported by Rolling Stone, Trump’s attorneys have already concocted a plan to keep him out of jail should the need arise by filing an emergency writ of habeas corpus that they are confident would result in an emergency stay of the ruling.
Trump responded to Tuesday’s ruling by launching a fundraising blitz around the rebuke. “A Democrat judge JUST HELD ME IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!” his campaign wrote in an email to supporters. “I was fined $9,000 for 9 gag order violations. THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME! They think they can BLEED ME DRY and SHUT ME UP, but I’ll NEVER stop fighting for YOU.”
Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Trump raged at the judge on Truth Social. “WE CANNOT LET THIS RADICAL LEFT, CORRUPT AND HIGHLY CONFLICTED NEW YORK DEMOCRAT JUDGE INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024 — THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. THE USA IS TRULY A NATION IN DECLINE! REMOVE THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL GAG ORDER.” Trump wrote.
On Monday, Trump complained to reporters outside of the courtroom that the gag order bars him from answering their questions — including whether he planned to testify in the trial. The gag order does no such thing, as the judge reminded him last week, but the former president seems intent on continuing to sell the notion that being treated like any other defendant makes him a victim of prosecutorial overreach.
