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.
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.