Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, has written on X that if Trump is ruled to have broken the gag order and is ordered to remove social media posts but refuses to do so, he may face prison time instead of a fine. Judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump in March, prohibiting him from making public comments about prosecutors, witnesses, or jurors in the case. The gag order was expanded in April to include prohibitions on Trump making statements about Merchan’s family and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Meanwhile, Merchan scheduled a hearing on Tuesday over claims that linking to articles that attacked his former lawyer or claimed that “undercover liberal activists” are lying to the judge to get on the jury were a violation of the gag order. Prosecutors have asked the judge to fine Trump $10,000 in total for 10 such posts, but the Judge held off on making a ruling during the Tuesday hearing. Vance wrote that if Trump removes the posts eventually, “it would be a defeat.” She continued: “If the Judge orders Trump to remove the posts & his doesn’t, then it would be clear a fine alone was insufficient to enforce the gag order & some custodial time would be clearly merited. These sort of incremental steps require patience but also build a flawless case.” Vance is the first female U.S. Attorney nominated by then-President Barack Obama. Legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann suggests that Merchan should appoint a monitor to screen Trump’s social media posts to ensure compliance with the gag order. “If Judge Merchan doesn’t want to put Trump in jail now for contempt, he should impose a monitor now to screen his social media so they don’t violate the gag order,” he wrote on X. The hush-money trial is in its second week and resumes on Thursday.
Trump Faces Prison Time if He Violates Gag Order and Refuses to Remove Social Media Posts
