BAIL REVOKED? What could happen if Trump is found in contempt
To date, the consequences Donald Trump has suffered for sexual assault, defamation, business fraud, alleged election interference, and so much more have been pretty minimal, proportionately speaking. Granted he’s been hit with fines that would be devastating to a person who paid their bills and didn’t have a cult of donors. He’s also been hit with small fines over gag order violations in a civil case.
Anyone would be justified in being a little skeptical about whether Trump will ever face justice for his alleged criminal acts, but now former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner is pointing out one of the most serious consequences that will be on the table in the very near future.
Bear in mind that Trump has four criminal cases underway. He’s managed to stall the federal election interference case; his trial isn’t yet scheduled in the similar Georgia case; and the Florida case over government documents has a trial date that’s expected to be delayed. So, the only case making clear and outwardly obvious progress at the moment is in New York, where he’s sitting in criminal court for falsifying business records to cover up even more election interference, this time from 2016.
That doesn’t mean the other cases have disappeared though, and remember that Trump is currently a defendant out on bail in those cases. Bail has conditions, including that it can be revoked if the criminal defendant gets caught in any further crimes before trial.
Kirschner is pointing out that this could include gag order violations.
Judge Juan Merchan didn’t pass judgment on Trump’s first 10 alleged violations last week, but he’s scheduled to hear the prosecution present further allegations on Thursday. If he rules that Trump violated the order, it could mean fines from him, but the feds could move in and impose jail time, Kirschner explains.
Judge Merchan has already warned that Trump could spend time in a cell if he is disruptive in court (as he was during the E. Jean Carroll trial), so now that threat is potentially hanging over the defendant’s head at the federal level, too. In fact, bail could be revoked in any and all of his cases if he’s determined to be continuing to carry out crimes.
Kirschner shared a copy of the warnings Judge Tanya Chutkan issued in the federal case when Trump was arraigned.
If Judge Merchan finds that Trump violated the gag order and holds him in criminal contempt, Trump will have violated his conditions of release in his DC federal case & Trump’s pretrial release should be revoked. Because. . . you know . . . the rule of law. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/i9X8ZBG7Xw
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) April 24, 2024
While it’s impossible to truly know Trump’s mind, he seems to be showing more concern about a potential punishment for gag order violations than ever. Though he’s still railing about how unfair (he believes) the rule is, he’s halted posting about jurors (though that could be in part because jury selection is over and his media allies aren’t talking about them anymore). He also seems to have quit posting about Merchan’s daughter, or at least, doesn’t seem to have posted about her in over a week.
He’s even leaving Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels alone, to a degree, although he did share a Fox News clip on Monday speaking about the witnesses and their testimony over the past week.
Is Trump terrified of the potential consequences? He should be. His attorneys may even have warned him of the same possibility Kirschner shares in the clip below.
Now we wait with bated breath to see whether Judge Merchan will rule against Trump on the contempt charges and trigger a domino fall that lands this defendant in custody until all his trials are over.
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