(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Donald Trump said on May 6, 2024, that going to jail for violating the gag order in his New York hush-money trial would be worth it because “our Constitution is much more important than jail.”
He said that while taking questions from reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse after the conclusion of another day in his criminal trial, the Daily Wire reported.
Trump has already been fined $10,000 for multiple violations of corrupt Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order, which prohibits Trump from talking about potential witnesses, jurors, court staff, attorneys and the judge’s family during the trial.
Merchan told Trump he would “consider a jail sentence” if he violated the gag order again, after issuing his latest fine on May 6, 2024.
“The last thing I want to consider is jail. You are [the] former president and possibly the next president. The magnitude of that decision is not lost on me. Your continued willful violation of the court’s order… constitutes a direct attack… and will not be allowed to continue,” Merchan said.
Trump discussed the gag order and Merchan’s threat of throwing him in jail after court hearings had concluded for the day.
“I have to watch every word I tell you, people [reporters]. You ask me a question, a simple question, I’d like to give [an answer], but I can’t talk about it because this judge is giving me a gag order and said I’ll go to jail if I violate it. 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,” he said.
Last week, Trump was fined $9,000 by Merchan after the judge said Trump spoke about people involved in the trial on nine separate occasions, mostly in his Truth Social posts. Trump was then fined another $1,000 on May 6, 2024, for another post on his social media platform.
