Bragg asked Manhattan Judge Juan Merchán to also warn Trump that “future violations” of the gag order could be punished with “not only additional fines, but also up to thirty days in jail.” Last month, Merchan filed an injunction against Trump over his “extrajudicial preliminary statements.” Merchan ordered that Trump cannot make or order others to make public statements about witnesses, about prosecutors in the case other than Bragg, or about court employees, district attorney employees or family members of employees, Fox News reported.
Merchan also ordered that Trump cannot direct others to make public statements about any potential or selected jurors. On the first day of the criminal trial and the start of jury selection, Manhattan prosecutors made it clear that Trump violated the order three times on social media. Prosecutors said Trump should be fined $3,000 for three alleged violations of the gag order — $1,000 for each violation.
On Tuesday, Bragg’s team filed a motion to hold the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee liable for contempt of court. Bragg’s team said in its proposal Tuesday that the fines may not be enough to prevent future problems and gag order violations. The contempt motion is part of Trump’s historic criminal trial. He is the first American president to face a criminal trial. Bragg charged him with 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records related to alleged hush payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 before the election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
