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Judge Juan Machan found former President Donald Trump in contempt for violating the gag order for the 10th time in his hush money trial, and said he would consider a prison term.
“Going forward, this court will need to consider a prison sentence,” Marchand said Monday.
“Mr. Trump, it's important for you to understand, the last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You're the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well,” Marchand said. Told.
“I have not forgotten the magnitude of this decision, but at the end of the day, I have a job to do,” the judge added. “So, I would like you to understand that although I am not going to impose a prison sentence, I will impose a prison sentence if necessary and appropriate.”
Marchand fined Trump $1,000 for the violation and ordered him to pay the fine by the close of business Friday. A judge last week fined Trump $9,000 for nine previous violations of a judge's gag order.
Violation of a gag order is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both.
The gag order prevents the defendant from speaking about potential witnesses and most officials and associates of the court and the New York District Attorney's Office.
The contempt order was issued weeks after Trump's hush money trial in New York. Prosecutors have charged President Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records for allegedly concealing how Michael Cohen paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep her quiet before the 2016 election. accused of a crime. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied that he had an extramarital affair.
Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan said in a statement that the gag order was “unconstitutional and un-American” and criticized the judge and his ruling.
“President Trump has not violated this unjust edict by partisan operatives.” “The threat to jail the 45th President of the United States and a leading candidate for the 2024 presidential election for exercising his First Amendment rights is typical of crooked Joe Biden and his allies. It is an authoritarian tactic of three worlds.”
CNN legal analyst Karen Friedman Agnifilo says Marchan has options to keep Trump out of jail. For example, he could start with a short period of detention in court.
“He has several options. For example, he could be hospitalized for a few hours. There is a holding cell behind the courtroom,” she said.
“He was able to get him in that day. He was able to get him in while eating lunch. He could do it that way as a gradual step towards getting him in overnight.” I did.”
Monday's contempt ruling found that Trump violated a gag order by making comments about the jury composition in the case.
President Trump's comments were made during an April 22 interview on Real America's Voice's “Just the News No Noise.” “You know [the judge is] Rushing to trial like crazy. No one had ever seen something like this happen. That jury was chosen very quickly and 95% were Democrats. This area is mostly Democratic. You consider it purely Democratic territory. To me, this is a very unfair situation,” President Trump said.
In a written ruling, the judge said the comments violated the gag order.
“Defendant violated the order by making public statements about jurors and how they were selected,” Marchand wrote. “In doing so, the defendant not only called into question the integrity and, by extension, the legitimacy of these proceedings, but also once again raised fears for the safety of the jury and his loved ones.”
The ruling also makes it clear that he could be sentenced to prison in the future.
“(B) This is the 10th time this court has found a defendant in criminal contempt, spanning three separate allegations, and that the fine would violate the court's legal orders. It is clear that there is not enough to stop it, and it will never be enough,” Marchand wrote. “Accordingly, the Defendant is hereby advised that any future violation of the legal order shall be punishable by imprisonment, where appropriate and justifiable.”
Prosecutors had alleged that Trump violated the gag order four times: once with the jury, once with David Pecker, and twice with Michael Cohen. The judge ruled that the other three comments did not violate the order.
“Under the circumstances here, this court cannot find beyond a reasonable doubt that the statements at issue constituted a veiled threat against Mr. Pecker or any other witness,” the judge ruled.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN's John Miller contributed to this report.