USA. A judge threatened Donald Trump with arrest for his statements about grand juries

Donald Trump was fined $1,000 for comments in a television interview in which he said that “the judge is rushing this trial like crazy” and that the jurors selected are Democratic voters, adding that it is a “very unfair situation.”

– By doing so, the defendant not only questioned the fairness and legitimacy of this trial, but again raised fear for the safety of jurors and their families – said Judge Merchan.

He threatened that the punishment imposed on Monday would be the last in the form of a fine and that he would consider placing Trump in custody in future cases. – Putting you in jail is the last thing I want to do. You are the former president of the United States and perhaps also the next president, admitted the judge, quoted by journalists observing the trial in the courtroom.

Merchan noted that putting Trump behind bars would pose quite a logistical problem, including: for the Secret Service officers protecting him.

Trump has already violated the speech ban imposed on him ten times, including: witnesses and jurors judging him in the trial. The former president complains that the restrictions imposed on him constitute a violation of his constitutional rights.

The lawsuit pending in state court in Manhattan concerns 130,000. hole. paid by Trump to porn actress Stormy Daniels to remain silent about their alleged intimate relationships before the 2016 presidential election.

Prosecutors accuse Trump of illegally trying to disguise these expenses as payment for legal services to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen, who brokered the deal.

This carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, although most experts do not expect a prison sentence if the former president is convicted. Cohen himself was convicted of, among others, in this case in 2018 and spent 3 years behind bars.