'30 days in jail': Experts float punishment for Trump after 'blatant' gag order violations
"It’s time for criminal contempt" charges against Donald Trump, according to one legal expert on Wednesday.
That's because it appears the former president may have already broken a recently expanded gag order in the criminal case he faces for alleged "hush money" payments. According to the criminal indictment, Trump is accused of trying to influence the 2016 election by paying an adult film star named Stormy Daniels to hide an affair.
After going after Judge Merchan's daughter on Truth Social last week, the judge expanded the order to include family members of the court as well as prosecutors' families.
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But on Wednesday evening, Trump reposted attacks on Merchan's wife and daughter in various Truth Social posts. In doing so, Trump suggests Merchan's wife is biased, which would purportedly then disqualify Merchan. Some have suggested Trump is attempting to test the limits of the order.
Legal analyst Allison Gill flagged the articles shared by Trump, asking about the gag order.
"ALERT: These posts from 10 minutes ago seem like pretty blatant violations of the expanded gag order in Manhattan, no?" she asked.
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner had this to say:
"It’s time for criminal contempt. 30 days in jail for each violation," he wrote. "And pretrial detention should be waiting in the wings. Stop the insanity. Apply the rule of law."
Former prosecutor Ron Filipkowski also weighed in Wednesday.
"In any normal situation, that is a clear violation of the judge's gag order," he wrote. "But do the normal rules apply to Trump?"