The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s ‘hush money’ trial in Manhattan threatened jail time over repeated violations of an extensive gag order.
As the third week of the trial opened on Monday, Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for what he claimed was another violation of the order before threatening to put the former president behind bars for any future violations.
“Merchan warned Trump that continued violations of the order could result in incarceration — a threat he made again on Monday after fining him the maximum of $1,000 for the most recent violation,” NBC News reported.
“It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent,” Merchan said during early proceedings on Monday.
“The last thing I want to do is to put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well. There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for you,” he continued, adding that taking that step would be “disruptive to the proceedings.”
However, Merchan warned the 45th president that “his continued willful violations of this court’s orders threaten the administration of justice and constitute a direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow that to continue.”
Merchan ordered the removal of a statement from Trump’s Truth Social account by 2:15 p.m. on Monday.
During testimony last week, one of the key witnesses in the case, David Pecker, gave testimony that has unexpectedly damaged the case being pursued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, according to an analysis.
There was much anticipation surrounding David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc., owner of the scandal-plagued National Enquirer, who was expected to provide significant evidence against Trump. Pecker was set to testify about the infamous “catch and kill” scheme, a tactic employed by the tabloid to purchase damaging stories about Trump during the 2016 election and subsequently suppress their publication.
However, during cross-examination, Pecker’s statements appeared to undermine the narrative that the prosecution had painstakingly constructed. Pecker testified in court that Trump was not the primary individual concerned about potentially damaging stories due to his fame and past interactions with women. Instead, it was Pecker himself and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen who were more apprehensive.
During his testimony, Pecker, who served as CEO of the Enquirer’s parent company at the time, revealed that in 2015, he had agreed to act as Trump’s “eyes and ears.” He committed to informing Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, about any stories that could potentially harm Trump.
As part of a plan he called “catch and kill,” he bought the rights to these stories but didn’t publish them, which kept them secret.
Court watchers speculated that Pecker’s testimony was more damaging to Bragg than Trump.
“Did the prosecution comprehend that they just looked silly? Their main witness just said that Trump didn’t even think of any of this,” a political analyst from Travis Media Group tweeted after the testimony.
“Pecker effectively testified today that he and Cohen drummed up this scheme, without Trump’s instruction. Not a good day for Alvin Bragg and Joe Biden!!!” Raheem Kassam of the National Pulse tweeted.
