Judge fines Trump $1,000 for 10th gag order breach, warns of jail time
Donald Trump
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's criminal trialfined him $1,000 on Monday (May 6), for breaching the gag order for the tenth time.
Justice Juan Merchan cautioned that he would contemplate incarcerating Trump for any subsequent infractions. Merchan noted that the nine fines of $1,000 each imposed previously did not appear to dissuade Trump from violating the gag order, which prohibits him from publicly discussing jurors, witnesses, and the families of the judge and prosecutors if such remarks try to interfere with the case.
Merchan stated that he saw jail time as "truly the last resort" for several reasons, including the trial's disruption, the political implications of imprisoning a leading presidential candidate before an election, and the exceptional security challenges of detaining a former president with ongoing Secret Service protection.
Nonetheless, he said that Trump's persistent and deliberate violations of the gag order amounted to a "direct attack on the rule of law."
“I do not want to impose a jail sanction and have done everything I can to avoid doing so. But I will if necessary,” Merchan said from the bench in the absence of the jury.
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Under New York law, breaching a court-issued gag order can result in fines reaching $1,000 or imprisonment for a maximum of 30 days.
Merchan imposed a $1,000 fine on Monday for an April 22 broadcast interview in which the Republican former president said: "That jury was picked so fast - 95% Democrats. The area's mostly all Democrat."
What's the case against Trump?
New York prosecutors have accused Trump of lying about his business records to hide a $130,000 payment to a porn star named Stormy Daniels, who says she had sex with him in 2006. Trump says he didn't do it and denies having sex with Daniels.
Trump often complains that he can't talk to voters much because of a rule that stops him from talking about the case.
Also watch |Donald Trump to announce his second-in-command in a few weeks: Reports
Before a meeting on Monday, Trump didn't talk about Cohen, his old lawyer who will likely speak in the trial. But he kept saying that New York prosecutors are teaming up with President Joe Biden to hurt his chances in politics. He also said the judge has a problem because his daughter works for Democrats. Trump's lawyers tried to get the judge off the case, but they didn't succeed.
(With inputs from agencies)