Trump says jail time to defend free speech a ‘sacrifice’ he’s willing to make

Former President Donald Trump said he’d make the “sacrifice” of going to jail to defend free speech amid the trial in Manhattan where the 45th president is under a gag order he has slammed as “unconstitutional.” 

“I have to watch every word I tell you people. You ask me a question, a simple question I’d like to give it, but I can’t talk about it because this judge has given me a gag order and [says] you’ll go to jail if you violate it,” Trump said in remarks outside the courtroom Monday afternoon.  

“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.”

Earlier Monday, presiding Judge Juan Merchan said he will consider a jail sentence for Trump if he continues to violate the gag order. The gag order prevents Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses and their potential participation or remarks about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

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Former US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Monday, April 15, 2024. Jury selection beings Monday in Trumps criminal trial where he faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of an alleged scheme to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.  (Angela Weiss/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The DA’s office argued that Trump violated the order more than a dozen times, with the judge ruling last week that Trump violated the order nine times, resulting in a combined $9,000 fine. Merchan fined the former president another $1,000 for an additional violation on Monday, while arguing it’s “clear” that $1,000 fines for each violation are not effective.

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

In the judge’s initial gag order ruling last Tuesday, he threatened Trump with jail time if he further violated the order, while also lamenting not being able to fine Trump more than $1,000 for each violation. 

Merchan wrote in the Tuesday order that if Trump carries out “continued willful violations” of the gag order, he could face “incarceratory punishment” if “necessary and appropriate.”

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In the text of his order, Merchan lamented that the fines’ costs “unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine.” 

Judge Juan Merchan poses for a picture in his chambers, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photos)

Merchan continued in the order last week that it would be “preferable” if the court “could impose a fine more commensurate with the wealth of the contemnor.”

“In some cases that might be a $2,500 fine, in other cases it might be a fine of $150,000. Because this Court is not cloaked with such discretion, it must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment,” he said, highlighting again that Trump could face time behind bars if he continues violating the order. 

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Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney is questioned by prosecutor Matthew Colangelo before Justice Juan Merchan during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 6, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

Trump, who is standing trial over 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, has railed against the gag order as “unconstitutional” and accused Merchan of “election interference,” while slamming the case overall as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration.

Trump said in his remarks Monday that the trial will last an additional two to three weeks, which he said delighted Merchan as he will be kept away from the presidential campaign trail. 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for opening statements in his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 22, 2024 in New York City. Former President Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.   (Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images)

“So we just found out the government just said that they want two to three more weeks. That means they want to keep me off the trail for two to three more weeks. Now, anybody in there would realize there’s no case. They don’t have a case. Every legal scholar says they don’t have a case. This is just a political witch hunt. It’s election interference. And this is really truly election interference. And it’s a disgrace,” Trump charged, while noting his high poll numbers. 

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“The judge is so happy about two to three more weeks because they all want to keep me off the campaign trail. That’s all this is about. This is about election interference.”

Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney testifies during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S. May 6, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

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Monday marked the beginning of the fourth week of the trial where Trump’s facing 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

The case focuses on Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with the then-real estate tycoon in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

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Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony.