Judge Juan Merchan warned Trump that if he continues to violate the judge's orders, he could impose “an incarceratory punishment.”

Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office accused Trump of violating the gag order numerous times since it went into effect.

The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money case on Tuesday held the former president in criminal contempt over a series of posts on Truth Social that he said violated a gag order barring any attacks on jurors and witnesses.

Judge Juan Merchan ruled Trump in contempt for nine violations of his gag order, with a fine of $1,000 for each instance. The order prohibits the former president from “making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding,” and “public statements about any prospective juror or any juror.”

Merchan had indicated on April 23 that he was not impressed by the arguments from the defense, telling one of Trump’s attorneys that he was “losing all credibility” when he suggested that Trump was exercising caution to comply with the gag order.

    • snooggums@midwest.socialEnglish
      0·
      8 months ago

      Yes and no.

      The amount is insignificant in the monetary sense, but shows the court can actually enforce a gag order. Hopefully further violations result in far more significant contempt punishments such as throwing his ass in jail, but it is a start.

      • plz1@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        8 months ago

        It’s not enforcement if he can pay it with pocket change, it’s just a slight annoyance. Enforcement would be taking his means of breaking the gag order away (his access to social media).

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      The maximum fine in NY for this is $1,000 per infraction. If it continues, the judge could sentence jail time, but the fine would remain the same.

      • kent_eh@lemmy.caEnglish
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        8 months ago

        And the judge acknowledged that point in his statement. Pointed out that other types of violations allow the guilty party’s wealth to be taken into account, but this charge doesn’t. Also pointed out that ignoring this sentence and doing future violations are mush more likely to lead to jail time.

        .

        Despite Trump’s whining about everything being unfair to him, and the public saying this is a slap on the wrist, the judge is taking the legally appropriate and legally required steps.

        • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
          0·
          8 months ago

          Correct. Merchan is smart to stay by the book in order to prevent providing cause for Trump’s defense to claim mistrial. The prosecution recommended the maximum fine, which was honored. Merchan then set the grounds for possible jail time for future infractions.

          • azimir@lemmy.ml
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            8 months ago

            Isn’t there already another gag violation hearing on the docket for violations done while awaiting the first gag violation hearing and/or when we were awaiting the decision from the first violation hearing?

            • Furbag@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              Yes. It’s unclear if the remaining 4 infractions that will be heard on Thursday will be grouped with these first 10 or if they will be ruled on separately. My bet is that since these happened before he issued his warning to Trump about future infractions resulting in incarceration, they will also carry the maximum $1000 penalty if found to have been violated. But from today on Trump is officially on notice that any violation of the gag order will be a grounds for imprisonment.

        • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          The judge addressed that concern specifically and said that when $1k isn’t sufficient to cow a contemnor, detention should be imposed.

          • meleecrits@lemmy.world
            0·
            8 months ago

            This is key. If he jailed him right away, his attorneys would call for a mistrial saying the judge was biased against him and they would probably succeed in getting the trial thrown out. It would still go on with another judge, but when the tactic is delay, they win.

            This is the first step towards jail for contempt. There can be no doubt Trump is maliciously violating the gag order.

            That said, I have little doubt some 11th hour fuckery will happen to prevent him from being jailed.

            • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              The Supreme Court will stop all of the democracy dismantling they are doing to say the do-nad can’t be imprisoned.

        • HocEnimVeni@lemmy.world
          0·
          8 months ago

          It’s like handicap parking spots, it’s basically just a super expensive reserved parking spot that every parking lot is legally required to have.