Lawyer Predicts For Us Judge's Next Move After Trump Gag Order Hearing
Former President Donald Trump has, yet again, violated the gag order for one of his court cases. While Trump wasn't jailed for his gag order violations during his fraud trial last year, he was fined. It seems he didn't learn his lesson as he has now violated the gag order for his current case, the hush money trial that began earlier this month. Trump has allegedly violated the gag order 10 times, using social media to post and repost negative things about people involved in the case, such as Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels. Trump even talked badly about the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, which led to Merchan's family members being included in the gag order.
The prosecutors on the hush money case are unhappy with Trump. At a hearing to discuss the gag order, Chris Conroy said, "He knows what he's not allowed to do, and he does it anyway" (via CNN). Prosecutors want Merchan to crack down, requiring Trump to pay fines for each time he broke the gag order rules. They also want the judge to hold Trump in contempt.
The List spoke with Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, about Trump's gag order violations. Rahmani said: "There is no question that Trump violated the gag order. Judge Merchan chastised Trump's lawyer for even arguing that Trump was trying to comply. The bigger question is what is Merchan going to do about it?"
Neama Rahmani said Trump probably won't go to jail for the gag order violations
Judge Juan Merchan told Donald Trump's legal team they were "losing all credibility with the court" after they claimed he was attempting to abide by the gag order with no proof of that fact (via CNN). Despite Merchan's frustration, Neama Rahmani believes Trump's punishment for his behavior won't be too drastic. Rahmani told The List: "A day or two delay isn't significant. Judge Merchan is probably going to issue a written order because Trump will almost certainly appeal any sanction. Trump has argued that the order violates his First Amendment rights and he's litigated most adverse rulings against him."
Rahmani doesn't feel that jail time is on the cards for the former president. He continued: "Trump can be jailed if he is held in contempt, but that is highly unlikely. It would be unprecedented for a judge to jail a former president, and it could even result in mass protests or civil unrest. I expect to see more empty threats and nominal fines for Trump's continued violations."
And future gag order violations would be unsurprising, based on everything Trump has done and said so far. The hush money case will continue, and although Trump's courtroom behavior showed no signs of stress, his looks tell a different story.