Former U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media after attending the wake of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller at the Massapequa Funeral Home on March 28, 2024 in Massapequa, New York. Credit: hoo-me.com/MediaPunch /IPX
New York Judge Juan Merchan held Donald Trump in contempt of court for the 10th time on Monday as the ex-president’s criminal hush-money and election interference trial entered its 12th day. The judge warned the former president starkly that if he cannot comply with rules going forward, he will finally consider a jail sentence.
The judge fined Trump $1,000 for the latest gag order violation and told him, according to Lawfare: “There are many reasons why incarceration truly is the last resort” and he acknowledged that throwing Trump in jail would “obstruct the proceedings.”
“But at the end of the day, I have a job to do. Your continued willful violations constitute a direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow that to continue. As much as I’ve wanted to avoid a jail sentence, I will as necessary and if appropriate,” Merchan said.
The New York Times reported Monday that Trump had no visible reaction to the ruling from the bench but stared straight ahead at the judge before the trial continued with testimony.
In the contempt order, Merchan wrote:
This court finds that the People [of New York] have established the elements of criminal contempt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This court’s expanded order is lawful and unambiguous.
Defendant violated the order by making public statements about the jury and how it was selected. In doing so, defendant not only called into question the integrity, and therefore, the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again, raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.
Trump was fined $9,000 last week for each of his previous violations. The former president has posted attacks repetitively on his social media platform, Truth Social, largely directed at witness and onetime personal fixer Michael Cohen, as Law&Crime previously reported.
In New York State, contempt fines are maxed out at $1,000 or jail time of up to 30 days for violations. Monday’s fine, according to Reuters, was a direct response to an April 22 interview where Trump said the jury was “95% Democrats.”
Ahead of proceedings Monday, the outlet reported that Trump made comments to the press but did not respond to a question about Cohen. Instead, he accused prosecutors of being aligned with President Joe Biden.
“The judge has gagged me and I’m not allowed to talk about, I I guess, his total conflict,” Trump said Monday before the trial started. “He’s taken away my constitutional right to speak.”
Trump has often made this false claim, but the gag order does not prohibit him from speaking. A gag order prohibits discussion of only certain topics to ensure the integrity of trial proceedings and all participants.