Judge Who Donated to Biden’s 2020 Campaign Threatens Trump With Jail Time

Judge Juan Merchan, who donated to Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, threatened Donald Trump with jail time if he continues violating the gag order imposed on him, referring to him as “possibly the next President” while doing so. 

According to Fox: 

Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump before the trial began, ordering that Trump cannot make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case – other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

Bragg and prosecutors have alleged more than a dozen violations of the gag order and have already fined the former president $9,000 for those violations. 

Merchan said Monday that, going forward, the court will have to consider "a jail sentence." 

"The last thing I want to consider is jail," Merchan said. "You are [the] former president and possibly the next president." 

Whether or not Trump will test if Merchan is bluffing is anyone’s guess, though as someone likely planning on voting for Biden this November, it seems unlikely that Merchan would want to risk turning Trump into a martyr.