As a CNN panel hosted by Jim Acosta delivered blow-by-blow reports from the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump and his legal team are fighting 34 felony counts related to paying off adult film star Stormy Daniels, a former White House counsel who served under the ex-president tried to explain the delay in Judge Juan Merchan's contempt ruling.
After prosecutors brought Trump's attacks on the court and witnesses before the judge on Tuesday and asked for sanctions for gag order violations, legal observers have been waiting to see if Merchan will merely fine Trump or send him packing to jail.
Since that time, the former president has again pushed the limits of the gag order, leading to another hearing next week. The order is intended to stop Trump from intimidating potential witnesses and jurors, though prosecutors claim he has violated it multiple times since the beginning of the trial.
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According to attorney Jim Schultz, Merchan appears to be holding his fire for another reason.
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Speaking with Acosta, he stated Merchan's hands are tied to a certain degree by a fine limitation of $1,000 per contempt citation — and that he is likely trying to intimidate Trump with the delay.
He can also sentence Trump to up to 30 days in jail, but multiple experts have said that's unlikely.
"There's not a lot he could do and I think it's back to what we were saying earlier, I think he's holding it over the head a little bit," Schultz speculated. "I think the delay has a lot to do with the threat of a stick rather than a stick because I'm not sure that, to your point, that the fine is going to make a difference."
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