Trump Once Again Threatened With Jail Time for Once Again Violating Gag Order

As the old saying goes, nothing is certain in life except death and taxes—and also that Donald Trump will violate whatever gag order a judge has imposed on him time, time, time, and again.

Yes, apparently suffering from a medical condition in which he is unable to keep the thoughts he has about various witnesses and jurors inside his head, the ex-president once again defied a gag order set by Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the hush money trial in Manhattan. In this case, the violation involved disparaging comments Trump made about jurors during a phone interview last month with Real America’s Voice, claiming the jury had been selected “so fast” and was “mostly all Democrat,” adding, “It’s a very unfair situation.” And as Merchan made clear on Monday, he is beyond sick of this shit.

Days after fining Trump $9,000 for nine other gag order violations, Merchan wrote in his most recent order holding the former president in contempt, “Defendant not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.” Speaking to Trump directly in the courtroom, Merchan told him: “It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent. Therefore, 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.”

Last year, Trump was fined $15,000 for violating a gag order imposed during his civil fraud trial in New York. On Thursday, he lied about what Merchan’s order actually does, telling reporters it prohibits him from testifying in his own defense, which of course it does not.

Should Trump actually be sentenced to jail time, he would likely be locked up at the notorious Rikers Island, where, coincidentally, the former CFO of the Trump Organization is currently doing time for perjury. As The Daily Beast notes, such a prospect would be a logistical nightmare:

What is clear, however, is that incarcerating Trump would be an incredibly dicey proposition. For starters, as Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Daily Beast, Trump is entitled to round-the-clock protection even if he’s in jail. And having a coterie of armed bodyguards inside a city jail, according to former New York City Department of Correction commissioner Martin Horn, runs completely counter to the no-firearms policy that is standard in New York and across the nation. (Guns are carried by officers, for example, while transporting inmates, by those patrolling outside the walls, and by members of special units that respond to emergencies inside.)

Furthermore, Horn told The Daily Beast, housing Trump by himself in an otherwise empty facility could constitute solitary confinement, which is outlawed in New York.