Former President Donald Trump on Monday evening said that he is willing to go to jail after a New York judge threatened to incarcerate him for what he said are violations of his gag order.
On Monday morning, Judge Juan Merchan fined the former president for a 10th time but stipulated that he might jail the former president if the violations continue. The order prohibits the 45th president from commenting on witnesses, members of the jury, certain court staffers, and Judge Merchan’s family members.
“I have to watch every word I tell you people … because this judge has given me a gag order and said, ‘You’ll go to jail if you violate it,’” President Trump told reporters. “And frankly, you know what? Our Constitution is much more important than jail. It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.”
Prosecutors have indicated that they do not want Judge Merchan to jail the former president, saying in court filings that it would serve as a distraction in their trial.
But the judge said that $1,000 fines for gag order violations “are not serving as a deterrent,” adding: “Going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction.”
“Mr. Trump, it’s important to understand 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 one as well,” he said.
“So as much as I do not want to impose a jail sanction,” the judge added, “I want you to understand that I will, if necessary and appropriate.”
Prosecutors had argued that President Trump made four violations, but the judge only agreed with one. The only violation stems from an April 22 interview with television channel Real America’s Voice in which President Trump criticized the speed at which the jury was picked and claimed that it was likely stacked with Democrats, noting the jurisdiction in Manhattan.
Because President Trump still receives U.S. Secret Service protection, it’s not clear how agents would protect the former president if he is jailed.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service told The Epoch Times on Tuesday that it “must provide protection for current government leaders” and “former presidents and first ladies,” although its statement did not go into specifics.
President Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with payments he made during the 2016 campaign, but he has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. The trial is the first of his four criminal cases to come before a jury.
So far, multiple witnesses, including former Trump Organization officials, have testified in the trial. On Monday, former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney responded to questions from lawyers about the payments that were sent to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who then paid adult film performer Stormy Daniels to not speak publicly about an alleged affair that President Trump has denied.
Mr. McConney told defense attorney Emil Bove, under questioning, that payments sent to Mr. Cohen were marked as legal expenses. Prosecutors say that it was an attempt to cover up the true nature of the alleged crime, arguing that it was designed to interfere in the 2016 election.
Two weeks ago, in opening statements, defense attorney Todd Blanche said that it was McConney who made the payments and did not consult with President Trump.
“He’s not gonna say he talked to President Trump about it. He’s not going to say that he called the White House and interrupted a meeting as President Trump was running the country and said: Hey, we got this invoice, I know we’re trying to cover it up here. Absolutely not,” Mr. Blanche said.
But Mr. McConney and another witness testified that the reimbursement checks were drawn from President Trump’s personal account. Yet even as jurors witnessed the checks and other documentary evidence, prosecutors did not elicit testimony Monday showing that the former president dictated that the payments would be logged as legal expenses, a designation that prosecutors contend was intentionally deceptive.
Mr. McConney acknowledged during cross-examination that the former president never asked him to log the reimbursements as legal expenses or discussed the matter with him at all. Another witness, Deborah Tarasoff, a Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor, said under questioning that she did not get permission to cut the checks in question from the former president himself.
Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, are both expected to testify in the trial. Several witnesses who testified in the case, including former Trump campaign aide Hope Hicks, have cast doubt on the credibility of Mr. Cohen.
During testimony last week and under questioning from Mr. Bove, Ms. Hicks disputed claims that Mr. Cohen was a “fixer” for President Trump and suggested he would often go “rogue.”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
