Analysis by Summer Lane | Photo: Alamy
Judge Juan Merchan, the presiding judge in President Trump’s Manhattan-based criminal trial, found Trump in violation of the now-infamous expansive gag order on Monday morning, warning of future incarceration if he continues to allegedly violate its perimeters.
According to Merchan’s ruling, Trump has been “put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration…”
He was also ordered to pay another $1,000 fine for being found in violation of the gag order, which has prohibited the president from speaking out about witnesses, prosecutors, jurors, court officials, and their families.
However, the alleged violation of the gag order that Merchan was referring to on Monday morning was from an interview with Real America’s Voice on April 22, in which President Trump stated that the jury in the trial was “mostly all Democrat,” per NYT.
He additionally stated that he thought the jury selection process was “very unfair.”
Incredibly, Judge Merchan wrote that the comment “called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings” and “raised the specter of fear for the safety of the juror and of their loved ones.”
Last week, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for allegedly violating the gag order nine times. Following this ruling, Trump later said that he planned on filing a constitutional motion to fight Judge Merchan’s gag order, telling reporters on Friday, “We have people saying things about me and I’m not allowed to respond. So this judge is taking away my constitutional right, and as the Republican candidate and somebody’s who leading Biden by a lot, I should be able to respond.”
Monday’s ruling from Merchan seemed to represent yet another move from the New York judge aimed at stifling Trump’s ability to speak as he has continued to nitpick the president’s comments. The NYT reported that Trump lawyer Susan Necheles even brought a collection of articles before Judge Merchan last week, asking preemptively if the president posting them on Truth Social would violate the gag order.
Merchan did not offer clear guidance on the question. Rather, he only stated, “When in doubt, steer clear.”
President Trump also addressed reporters on Monday outside of Merchan’s courtroom, offering fiery comments that showed his frustration with the judge’s unwillingness to drop the gag order.
He said, “This has never happened in this country before. This is a ridiculous case…the judge has gagged me, and I’m not allowed to talk about, I guess, his total conflict. The judge is totally…conflicted…and I’m not supposed to be talking about it, but I am allowed to say that the judge is a conflict like nobody has ever had before.”
Judge Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, has allegedly fundraised tens of millions of dollars for her political Democrat clients via a political consulting firm by utilizing messaging based on her father’s high-profile case with Donald Trump. A previous motion from Trump’s lawyers included lengthy information on this alleged conflict, which is disturbing indeed.
Via RSBN, the ruling argued:
“The Court’s interest in these proceedings by virtue of the close relationship with an immediate relative, and Ms. Merchan’s ongoing receipt of commercial and reputational benefits based on the manner in which Your Honor has conducted these proceedings, requires recusal based on an actual conflict and an unacceptable appearance of impropriety. This is easily illustrated by the fact that it would be completely unacceptable to most New Yorkers if the judge presiding over these proceedings had an adult child who worked at WinRed or MAGA Inc.”
Trump’s comments that the judge is “conflicted” seem like an appropriate description for the allegations on that point, and it remains to be seen if Judge Merchan will actually follow through on his threat and force the 45th president, and likely the 47th president, to do jail time for anything that he deems to be a gag order “violation.”