The gag-defying Donald Trump may be tossed in jail by his criminal hush money judge as the trial slogs on. And it could be ordered even if prosecutors don't ask for it.
“The fact that the prosecution doesn't point to jail time doesn't really matter to the judge,” former New York prosecutor and Pace University law professor told Salon.
“This judge, he doesn't play games,” Gershman said. “And if he sees that individuals are playing games with him, he's going to come down strongly on them.”
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Already, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 on Tuesday finding former President Donald Trump found in contempt for routinely flouting the narrow gag order nine times and ordered him to delete the Truth Social posts taking shots at jurors and witnesses.
Merchan noted that New York state law does not permit him to escalate fines against Trump, which led him to conclude that the court "must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment" for future violations.
The warning didn't appear to restrain Trump, who is the presumptive GOP nominee for the 2024 presidency — from poking the jurist bear from the lectern at a rally event in Waukesha, Wisconsin where he stated: “There is no crime. I have a crooked judge. He’s a totally conflicted judge."
In court, Trump's lead counsel Todd Blanche tried to show that his superstar client is forced to remain silent while his former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen continues to lob attacks. against the ex-president.
“This is not a man that needs protection from the gag order," he said, according to Salon, that was met with Merchan nodding.
Washington University School of Law professor Peter Joy pointed to a “lot of precedent” about a judge’s authority to find people in contempt and place them in jail.
“I have no doubt in my mind, that [Trump's] going to continue to violate the order that he has up until the point where there's a more serious repercussion,” Joy said, according to the piece.
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- Ex-judge: Trump knows jail is 'a real possibility' after gag order tightens
- 'Bring your toothbrush': Ex-judge puts Trump on notice that he will 'sit in a jail cell'
- Judge slaps Trump with $9K in fines — and warns 'jail may be a necessary punishment'
- 'No conscience': George Conway doesn't see how Trump can avoid jail for defying gag order