On Monday, Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the hush money case brought against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), threatened to throw Trump in jail if he continued to violate the gag order imposed on him by the court. Merchan ruled that the 45th president violated the order a 10th time and thus fined him $1,000.
The judge addressed Trump directly in the opening minutes of court, telling him that "the last thing" he wanted to do was to throw a former president and possibly future president in jail for being in contempt. According to The New York Times, the judge told the defendant that the various violations of the gag order are a "direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow that to continue."
"The magnitude of this decision is not lost on me but at the end of the day I have a job to do," Merchan explained. "So as much as I don't want to impose a jail sanction...I want you to understand that I will if necessary and appropriate."
In the judge's order, Merchan emphasized that future violations would be met with possible incarceration. “Defendant is hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration," the order reads.
The gag order against Trump restricts him from attacking witnesses in the case, jurors, members of the court staff, and others connected to the case in some way. Trump has repeatedly railed against the order, explaining in a Truth Social post, "This conflicted, Trump Hating Judge won't let me respond to people that are on TV lying and spewing hate all day long," Trump wrote. "He is running rough shod over my lawyers and legal team. The New York System of 'Justice' is being decimated by critics from all over the World. I want to speak, or at least be able to respond. Election Interference! RIGGED, UNCONSTITUTIONAL TRIAL! Take off the Gag Order!!!"
Trump was fined $9,000 last week after Judge Merchan ruled that he had violated his gag order on nine separate occasions due to various Truth Social posts that attacked witnesses in the case, notably his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, and adult film star Stormy Daniels.
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1787480140026393081
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