Donald Trump has now hit double digits when it comes to times he’s been found to have violated his gag order by attacking jurors and witnesses in his Manhattan criminal trial.
“I find you in criminal contempt for the 10th time,” Judge Juan Merchan said Monday, per The Washington Post.
In particular, Merchan found Trump violated the gag order by asserting that the jury was “95% Democrats,” NPR reported, a statement that prosecutors argued had created an “air of menace.” As with his previous nine violations, Trump was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
But Merchan — who rejected prosecutors’ arguments that other statements, including one attacking Michael Cohen, violated the gag order — warned Trump that he could be incarcerated if he continues to flout the rules, as much as the court would prefer to avoid the disruption that would cause to the trial proceedings.
“Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sentence,” Merchan said. But, the judge continued, he hopes it does not come to that. “The last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well.”