Judge fines Trump $1,000 for 10th gag order breach, warns of jail time

On Monday (May 6), the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal prosecution imposed a $1,000 punishment for violating the gag order for the ninth time.

Justice Juan Merchan warned that he would consider imprisoning Trump for any future breaches. Merchan observed that the nine $1,000 fines imposed earlier did not appear to deter Trump from breaching the gag order, which prevents him from publicly disparaging jurors, witnesses, and the families of the judge and prosecutors if such remarks interfere with the case.

Merchan stated that he considered jail time as “truly the last resort” for a variety of reasons, including the disruption of the trial, the political consequences of imprisoning a leading presidential candidate before an election, and the extraordinary security concerns.

Nonetheless, he claimed that Trump’s continued and purposeful violations of the gag order constituted a “direct attack on the rule of law.”

“I do not want to impose a jail sentence and have done all possible to avoid doing so. But I will if necessary,” Merchan stated from the bench in the absence of the jury.

Breaching a court-issued gag order in New York can result in a $1,000 fine or up to 30 days in prison.

Merchan imposed a $1,000 punishment on Monday for an April 22 TV interview in which the Republican former president stated, “That jury was picked so quickly – 95% Democrats.” “The area is mostly Democratic.”

What is the case on Donald Trump?

New York prosecutors have accused Trump of falsifying his business documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a porn star who claims she had sex with him in 2006. Trump says he didn’t do it and denies having sex with Daniels.

Trump frequently complains that he is unable to communicate effectively with voters due to a restriction that prohibits him from discussing the case.

Before a meeting on Monday, Trump did not mention Cohen, his former lawyer who is expected to testify in the trial. However, he continued to claim that New York prosecutors were working with President Joe Biden to harm his political chances. He also said the judge had a problem since his daughter works for the Democrats. Trump’s lawyers attempted to remove the judge from the case, but were unsuccessful.

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