Trump hush money trial: judge fines ex-president again, threatens jail for gag order violations

Merchan said he considered jail time a “truly the last resort” for many reasons, including the disruption to the trial, political implications of jailing a leading presidential candidate ahead of an election and the extraordinary security challenges of incarcerating an ex-president with a lifetime Secret Service detail.

Merchan had previously fined Trump US$9,000 for nine social media posts that he ruled had violated the gag order.

Merchan spoke as Trump sat at the defendant’s table in the New York courtroom in the first criminal trial of a former US president.

Trump’s criminal hush money trial, entering its 12th day, has featured testimony from a top aide and a former tabloid publisher about efforts during his first presidential bid to tamp down stories of unflattering sexual behaviour.

New York prosecutors have charged Trump with falsifying business records to cover up a US$130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with him in 2006. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies ever having sex with Daniels.

Trump complains frequently that the first criminal trial of a former US president has kept him cooped up in a chilly Manhattan courtroom when he should be out wooing voters as he mounts a comeback White House bid.