‘This court will have to consider a jail sanction’: Judge Merchan puts Trump on notice
Judge Juan Merchan on Monday put former President Donald Trump on notice that he really could face jail time if he keeps violating his gag order against attacking witnesses and jurors in his hush-money trial.
As reported by legal reporter Adam Klasfeld, Merchan issued the warning after having found Trump in contempt of court for the 10th time for violating the gag order.
“Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction,” said Merchan, according to Klasfeld.
The judge also emphasized that he did not want to order Trump detained for future gag order violations.
“The last thing that I want to do is to put you in jail,” he said. “The magnitude of such a decision is not lost on me, but at the end of the day, I have a job to do.”
Last week, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for nine separate gag order violations and the former president has continued railing against the order as being purportedly “unconstitutional” despite the fact that such orders are routine in criminal cases.
New York state law states that judges may fine defendants no more than $1,000 for each gag order violation, and Merchan has said that the only alternative left to him should Trump continue to flout the order would be incarceration.
