Donald Trump Warned Of Jail Time As He Is Fined For Violating Gag Order In Hush Money Trial Again
By Favour Adegoke on May 6, 2024 at 11:20 AM EDT
Donald Trump has been found in contempt of his gag order in his hush money trial for the second time.
The billionaire mogul was given a fine for his action and warned vehemently not to violate his gag order, or else he risks going to jail.
Trump was previously fined to the tune of $9000 for previous violations of the gag order imposed on him to prevent him from speaking about the witnesses and jury involved in his hush money trial.
Judge Fines Donald Trump $1000 And Orders Him To Remove Offending Post
According to Deadline, Trump has once again been punished for violating his gag order.
The order was imposed on him by the presiding judge, Judge Juan M. Merchan, before the start of his hush money trial to prevent the billionaire mogul from talking about the witnesses and the jury.
As a result of the violation, Trump was fined a $1000 fine, which must be paid before the close of business on May 10, 2024.
He has also been ordered to take down the offending post that warranted the prosecution filing a motion claiming he violated the gag order.
The Prosecution Claimed That The Ex-President Violated His Gag Order Four Times
The prosecution motion that led to Trump being fined claimed that the former president had violated his gag order four times.
They referenced two interviews, one press event, and an appearance outside the courtroom as instances when Trump violated the gag order.
In those instances, Trump could be seen making comments about the judge, his former lawyer Michael Cohen and the ex-publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker.
However, Merchan only found Trump guilty in one of those instances, ruling that the former president had made public statements about the jury and its selection, which "called into question the integrity and legitimacy of the proceedings."
The offending statement was, "You know [the judge is] rushing the trial like crazy. Nobody's ever seen a thing go like this. That jury was picked so fast - 95%o democrats. The area's mostly all Democrat. You think of it as a - just a purely democrat area. It's a very unfair situation, that I can tell you."
Judge Warned Donald Trump That Further Violations Might Lead To Jail Time
Merchan also warned Trump that further violations of the gag order might lead to his being incarcerated.
"The last thing I want to do is put you in jail," Merchan told Trump while giving his ruling, per the news outlet. "You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well."
The judge also reiterated his stance in the document that contained his ruling.
It read, "It is apparent that monetary fines have not, and will not, suffice to deter Defendant from violating this Court's lawful orders…..THEREFORE, Defendant is hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration."
He Previously Fined $9000 For Violating His Gag Order
Merchan recently fined Donald $9000 after finding him in contempt of the gag order for nine instances.
In the past, the former president has slammed the gag order as "totally unconstitutional" and said that the hush money trial was a "sham."
He added, "I'm not allowed to talk, but people are allowed to talk about me, so they can talk about me. They can say whatever they want. They can lie, but I'm not allowed to say anything."
He also does not find the prospect of going to jail daunting, recently stating on his Truth Social that it would be his "great honor" and that he would "gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela."
Donald Trump Called Judge Merchan 'Conflicted'
The presumptive GOP nominee threw caution to the wind last week Thursday as he took to his Truth Social platform to slam Judge Merchan as a "corrupt and highly conflicted" judge, telling his followers not to allow the "radical left" judge "interfere" with the 2024 election.
He shared the post around 7 a.m. on Thursday after he was found in contempt of the court for violating the gag order Merchan had placed.
Trump wrote, "WE CANNOT LET THIS RADICAL LEFT, CORRUPT AND HIGHLY CONFLICTED NEW YORK DEMOCRAT JUDGE INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024 — THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY."
He continued, "THE USA IS TRULY A NATION IN DECLINE! REMOVE THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL GAG ORDER."
"THIS IS A RADICAL LEFT REVOLUTION TAKING PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY," he added. "WHERE IS CROOKED JOE BIDEN? WHERE IS GOVERNOR NEWSCUM? THE DANGER TO OUR COUNTRY IS FROM THE LEFT, NOT FROM THE RIGHT!!!"
