Former United States Attorney Brett Tolman warned on Monday that the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s trial has placed himself in a situation where he must jail the former president if he violates the gag order against him again.
Judge Juan Merchan on Monday found Trump violated the gag order for the 10th time, warning next time he would consider imposing a jail sentence on the former president. Merchan must jail Trump if he does not want to appear weak while emboldening the former president by not following through on his threat, Tolman said on “America’s Newsroom.” (RELATED: Defense Attorney Tells Judge Gag Order Prevented Trump From Responding To Biden’s Comments On Trial)
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“The judge is boxing himself in his own corner at this point,” Tolman said. “He’s going to be the one that is going to threaten and he is going to fine this limited fine and he’s doing it with the underlying order being unconstitutional. How does anybody that’s in the position of Donald Trump, who knows it’s an unconstitutional order, how does he, with all of his ability to communicate to the American people, how does he not make comments, how does he not talk about this case? He knows it’s going to be an issue on appeal. But it’s the judge who’s now put himself in this position and he’s going to have to put him in jail because he’s now threatened it. Otherwise, he looks feckless and the president gets stronger.”
Judge Finds Trump Violated Gag Order For 10th Time@DailyCaller https://t.co/AgAetkyB9i
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“Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction,” the judge said.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, as his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 continues, at Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S., May 6, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Pool
Merchan recently held Trump in contempt for nine breaches of the order, fining him $9,000 and warning future violations could lead to incarceration.
The gag order bars Trump from making statements regarding witnesses, prosecutors other than the district attorney, court staff and jurors, as well as family members of the staff, district attorney or judge.
CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston in April suggested Trump should spend some time in jail, but also warned of potential strife and fallout for President Joe Biden if the judge decides to lock him up.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump sits inside Manhattan Criminal Court room waiting for the start of the proceedings of his criminal trial at the New York State Supreme Court in New York, New York, Thursday, May, 2, 2024. Mark Peterson/Pool via REUTERS
“I don’t think we know, but it really does put us between this rock and a hard place, right?” Preston said. “And the rock is like, listen, he has done something that’s wrong and if it was any of us sitting at this table, would we be, you know, held to a higher standard? Would we have to go, you know, into that holding cell? I think that if he does go into this hole, if that were to happen, first of all, I think you would probably see civil unrest across the country, certainly in some cities. That’s one. And two, politically, if I’m the Biden campaign, I don’t want to necessarily see him in jail because that’s just going to get people more inflamed and more fired up. I don’t think that’s necessarily great for the country. Even if we are bending the rules for someone.”
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