Alvin Bragg Floats 30 Day Jail Sentence for Trump If He Violates Gag Order Again
Former President Donald Trump attends the first day of his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via AP, POOL)
Prosecutors in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial are suggesting that he face 30 days in jail if he violates the gag order imposed on him by Judge Juan Merchan in a new court filing.
“This Court should again admonish defendant to comply with his obligations under the order. And finally, this Court should warn defendant that future violations of the Court’s restrictions on his extrajudicial statements can be punished not only with additional fines, but also with a term of incarceration of up to thirty days,” reads the the relevant portion of the filing submitted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“It is absolutely critical that defendant immediately halt any conduct that would violate the April 1 order’s narrow restrictions to protect the integrity of the ongoing trial. A finding of criminal contempt, imposition of sanctions, and stark warnings from this Court are the minimum remedies necessary to achieve this indispensable objective,” wrote Bragg.
Under the terms of the order, Trump is forbidden from commenting publicly about witnesses, jurors, court staff, and the prosecution’s staff and families, but inveigh against both Merchan and Bragg.
How Merchan would handle Trump’s apparent violations of the order — he’s already targeted, including Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, and Mark Pomerantz — is one of the key questions to be answered in the opening days of Trump’s trial.
On Monday, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig argued that Bragg should urge Merchan to enforce the gag order.
“First thing out of the D.A.’s mouth should be ‘Judge, he violated the gag order,’ said Honig. “If you tolerate this, it’s like raising a child. If the child breaks a rule and you let it go, you’ve lost them. And so one of the challenges for Judge Merchan here is going to be enforcing discipline in this court.”
The second day of Trump’s criminal trial in New York began on Tuesday morning.
