By Jerald Jimenez
May 6, 2024, 10:09 AM EDT
Judge Juan Merchán has declared former United States President Donald Trump in contempt after determining that he has violated a limited gag order for the tenth time during the criminal trial for alleged secret payment.
According to the judge, Trump violated the order by making public comments about the jury in the case during an interview on Real America’s Voice on April 22, a time when the trial was already underway.
Given the persistent violations of the gag order, the judge has threatened to take more severe measures in the future, and a possible imprisonment has not been ruled out, because he has indicated that fines of $1,000 for these infractions “do not serve as a deterrent.” .
“Mr. Trump, the last thing I want to do is put you in jail, you are the former president of the United States and possibly also the next president,” Merchán said in a direct statement to the Republican. “At the end of the day I have a job to do.”
Likewise, Merchán stated in the ruling that Trump violated the order after making public statements about the jury and how it was selected.
“In doing so, the defendant not only called into question the integrity and, therefore, the legitimacy of this procedure, but he once again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and their loved ones,” the judge ruled. judge Merchan.
The judge’s decision comes after he previously found Trump in contempt of nine prior violations of the trial’s limited gag order. In total, he paid $9,000 dollars, one for each violation.
Trump is on trial in a Manhattan court in New York City, where he faces felony charges related to an alleged hush money payment in 2016 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He faces a total of 34 charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty, marking the first time in US history that a former president has been tried on criminal charges.
With information from ABC News