Judge Juan Merchan who is presiding over Donald Trump’s “hush money” case in New York has ruled that the former president has violated a gag order for the tenth time. Merchan imposed a $1,000 fine on Trump and warned that future violations could result in incarceration.
Trump’s statement today.
The gag order is not just unconstitutional.
It is the epitome of election interference. pic.twitter.com/OaT0fRAtAM
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) May 7, 2024
According to MSNBC Merchan previously found Trump in contempt on nine violations in an April 30 ruling. The latest decision on Monday stems from separate alleged violations regarding statements about key witnesses Michael Cohen and David Pecker as well as comments about the jury.
While Merchan disagreed with the prosecution on the Cohen and Pecker statements he said Trump’s remarks about the jury in an April 22 interview called into question the integrity and legitimacy of the proceedings and raised concerns about the safety of the jurors and their loved ones.
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Again, there is no case, no legality for gag order. No proof/evidence of wrongdoings. The appellate courts need to step up and take action against these corrupt judges. He should be disbarred and… pic.twitter.com/jL7uUZFaIo
— 🕊 𝓐𝓷𝓷 𝓲𝓼 𝓡𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 🕊 𝐗𝐋𝐕 (@Ann_Lilyflower) May 7, 2024
In the interview, Trump said “The jury was picked so fast — 95% 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.”
The judge has ordered Trump to pay the maximum $1,000 fine and remove an “offending statement” from his Truth Social account. Merchan noted that such penalties aren’t deterring Trump and that jail may be the next step for future violations “if appropriate and warranted.”
