Wolf Blitzer Asks Former Judge, ‘At What Point Would You Be Prepared to Actually Jail’ Trump?

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer interviewed a former judge about the latest developments in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial, including the possibility that his violations of the gag orders might actually result in his incarceration.

Trump is facing 34 felony counts for falsifying business records regarding alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election — a historic first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president. The ex-president has made headlines for reportedly falling asleep repeatedly (at least four times so far) and his ongoing grumbling about the gag orders imposed by Judge Juan Merchan.

At a hearing Tuesday morning regarding the gag orders, Merchan sharply scolded Trump attorney Todd Blanche, raising his voice several times in frustration and even warning him at one point, “You’re losing all credibility with the court!” The judge said he would “reserve decision” on the matter, meaning he will issue an order at some later time, which could happen at any moment.

Blitzer interviewed former U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin about the trial and specifically the gag order hearing, asking her what she would have done in this situation.

Scheindlin questioned Merchan’s judicial temperament regarding his comment that Blanche had “lost all credibility,” saying that she thought it was “not a good idea to be exasperated on the second day of the six-week trial” and it was “a very judgmental statement on the second day of six weeks.”

Scheindlin was also skeptical about the prosecutors’ accusations that Trump’s posts that were re-posting comments or articles by other people violated the gag order. “Re-posting means yes, President Trump is also saying it…I understand it’s technically probably a violation — whether it warrants harsh reprisal, I don’t know.”

Blitzer noted that there were ten posts the prosecutors had argued were violations and New York law imposes a fine of $1,000 per violation, and asked Scheindlin how she expected Merchan to rule and if there was “anything” that could deter Trump.

“Two good questions,” replied Scheindin. “I would expect him initially to impose fines. I don’t think he’s going to go right to incarceration. I don’t think any judge would do that. He’s going to impose fines, and he’s going to give him a stern warning saying, ‘Now, look, I have fined you and I can fine you again. But if you don’t stop this, I have the power to incarcerate you and that’s what’s going to happen if you violate my court orders.’ So I think he’s going to give him a stern talking to and I think he’s going to impose these fairly minimal fines of $1,000 per violation. That’s what I would expect.”

Blitzer then reported that CNN had learned that “the U.S. Secret Service, court officers, and even the New York City Department of Corrections have been quietly discussing what to do if Trump does end up being jailed for contempt of court.”

“If you are presiding over this case,” the anchor asked Scheindlin, “at what point would you be prepared to actually jail the former President of the United States?”

“I wouldn’t be anxious to do that,” she said. “I think it makes him appear to be a victim. It only helps his narrative of this being a witch hunt. I would try to do everything I could not to incarcerate him.”

Scheindlin added that the logistics of jailing a former president would be “difficult,” needing 24/7 Secret Service protection, and said she read somewhere he could be sent to Riker’s, “which would be a terrible environment, so I would hope that it never came to that, and I don’t expect it to.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.