As Donald Trump continues to try Judge Juan Merchan’s patience, the former president—who inexplicably compared himself to South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela while previously discussing the possibility of his being incarcerated—is now several steps closer to seeing the inside of a jail cell than ever before.
If Trump is locked up for continuing to flagrantly ignore Merchan’s order, it is unclear where he would be taken. But, according to New York City Department of Correction (DOC) spokeswoman Latima Johnson, if he were handed over to local authorities, they would make sure he was looked after properly.
“For clarification, it is not our decision to make,” Johnson told The Daily Beast. “However, the Department would find appropriate housing for him if he winds up in our custody.”
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On Monday, Merchan, the New York State Supreme Court jurist presiding over Trump’s criminal hush-money trial, issued his final warning to the ex-commander-in-chief, admonishing him to stop his ceaseless violations of a gag order meant to shield witnesses, jurors, court staff, and their families, from public intimidation and harassment.
“I’ll find you in criminal contempt for the tenth time,” Merchan told Trump before Monday’s proceedings got underway. “It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent. Therefore, going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction. Mr. Trump, it’s important to understand the last thing I was to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next one as well.”
Last week, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for nine separate transgressions in which he brazenly defied the gag order. On Monday morning, Merchan fined Trump another $1,000 for a radio interview he gave last month that the judge said “not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings, but again raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.”
“It remains this Court's fundamental responsibility to protect the decency of the criminal process and to control disruptive influences in the courtroom,” Merchan wrote in his ruling.
Former DOC Commissioner Martin Horn doesn’t believe Trump, who prosecutors said is in fact “angling for” a jail sentence, will be taken into custody, regardless of Merchan’s latest remonstrance.
“Any defendant, 77-years-old, with no prior criminal convictions—a non-violent crime, not addicted to drugs, not likely to commit another crime—it would not be appropriate to send him to jail, even though the statute permits it,” Horn told The Daily Beast. “It’s not mandatory, and it’s highly unlikely. The statute allows for other sentences: probation, conditional discharge, a fine, and I think jail is highly unlikely.”
And while there has been speculation that Trump could be brought to an unused or underutilized facility where he could “get an entire wing to himself and the Secret Service could sit around and watch him,” Horn said such a setup “would amount to solitary confinement,” which is now banned in city jails.
“And most prisons and jails don’t allow people to come in with weapons, with firearms, so that would be another hurdle that would have to be overcome [for the Secret Service],” Horn said.
In an email, U.S. Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said, “Under federal law, the United States Secret Service must provide protection for current government leaders, former Presidents and First Ladies, visiting heads of state and other individuals designated by the sitting President of the United States. For all settings around the world, we study locations and develop comprehensive and layered protective models that incorporate state of the art technology, protective intelligence and advanced security tactics to safeguard our protectees. Beyond that, we do not comment on specific protective operations.”
Late last month, a group of federal, state, and city officials met to discuss the distinct possibility of having to jail a former president, and how to transport him between the courthouse and whatever facility would be receiving him, according to published reports. Yet, no discussions had taken place about how or where Trump would actually be incarcerated, if Merchan were to order a stint in jail, The New York Times reported, citing interviews with a dozen sources with knowledge of the situation.
A defiant Trump has so far refused to abide by the gag order, menacing his rivals and perceived enemies, which have included, among others, Merchan’s own daughter, on social media and during his impromptu press conferences in the courtroom hallway. He has denigrated the jury, without a shred of evidence, as unfairly biased against him, has called Michael Cohen, his onetime personal lawyer and “fixer,” a “sleazebag,” and used the same epithet to refer to Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of the 34 felony counts Trump is facing.
Prosecutors allege that Trump tried to hide a one-night stand Daniels says she had with the then-candidate, directing Cohen to buy her silence in the runup to the 2016 election so as not to jeopardize his chances of winning, then falsifying his company’s books to hide his reimbursement to Cohen as business expenses. If convicted, Trump faces up to four years in prison.
