(NewsNation) — The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial fined him $1,000 again Monday, warning that any future gag order violations could send him to jail.
This was the tenth such fine New York Judge Juan Merchan has issued to Trump for violating an order that bars what he is allowed to say about those involved in the case, including witnesses and jurors.
The case itself is about a $130,000 payment from Trump attorney and personal fixer Michael Cohen to porn actor Stormy Daniels to stifle what she said was an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier.
Could Trump go to jail?
Under New York state law, contempt of court is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of no more than $1,000.
It is unclear whether or when Merchan would take this step of imposing jail time, but Trump could potentially face jail time if he fails to pay the now total $10,000 fine.
Although the maximum jail time for violating a gag order is 30 days, Trump could theoretically face months in jail if Merchan issues consecutive sentences.
However, Laura Appleman, a professor of criminal law at Willamette University and former public defender in New York, said she believes that, at most, Trump would be given up to 30 days “if he can’t stop himself.”
What happens if Trump goes to jail?
If ordered to jail, Trump would likely be moved to Rikers Island, where he would be accompanied by Secret Service agents, according to Appleman and Molly Kalmus, an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The island jail on the East River would be able to separate Trump from the general population, they added.
Kalmus told Forbes that Rikers would be a likely outcome in that scenario because there is no jail at the Manhattan courthouse where Trump is being tried. The court’s holding cells are typically used short-term for people in transit from Rikers.
If Merchan does decide to send Trump to jail, he would still be required to attend the trial, though Appleman questioned whether that jail time would be enforced soon, telling Forbes, “You’re only going to kick someone out of trial for contempt if they can’t behave in court, and that is not what Trump has been said to have violated.”
Hush money trial latest
The 34 felony counts of falsifying business records accuse Trump of labeling the money paid to Cohen in his company’s records as legal fees. Prosecutors contend that by paying him income and giving him extra to account for taxes, the Trump executives were able to conceal the reimbursement.
Jeffrey McConney, the former Trump Organization controller, appeared on the witness stand, providing a mechanical but vital recitation of how the company reimbursed payments meant to suppress embarrassing stories from surfacing during the 2016 presidential campaign.
McConney and another witness testified that the reimbursement checks were drawn from Trump’s personal account.
Yet even as jurors witnessed the checks and other documentary evidence, prosecutors did not elicit testimony Monday showing that Trump himself dictated that the payments would be logged as legal expenses, a designation that prosecutors contend was intentionally deceptive.
Prosecutors are continuing to build toward their star witness, Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments. He is expected to undergo a bruising cross-examination from defense attorneys seeking to undermine his credibility with jurors.