Judge Juan Merchanwhich is overseeing the criminal trial against Donald Trump in New York for his alleged undercover payments to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels, has threatened to imprison the former president for his continued violations of the gag order. “I declare you in criminal contempt for the tenth time,” Merchán said at Monday’s hearing. “Going forward, this court will have to consider a prison sentence. The last thing I want is to put him in jail.
The judge, of Colombian origin, has confirmed that the fines of $9,000 that he has imposed on the magnate for the nine previous failures to comply with the court’s orders have not served as a deterrent. «The last thing I want to do is put you in jail. “You are the former president of the United States and possibly also the next president,” Merchán insisted, pointing out that imprisoning the Republican candidate for the November elections would require a monumental effort in which several law enforcement agencies would participate, including the Secret Service and the New York Department of Corrections. “Taking that step would be disrupting these procedures,” the magistrate concluded.
The fourth week of the trial could include more witness testimony. Last week, Hope Hicks, Trump’s former adviser, testified about the campaign and White House’s efforts to keep scandalous stories about him hidden. Before that, Trump’s defense suggested he was the target of an attempted blackmail when his attorney paid hush money to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
