- President Trump’s New York hush money judge has warned him twice this week about misconduct both in and out of court.
- If the judge follows through on his threat of imprisonment, Trump probably won’t be sent to prison.
- A short period of time behind the courtroom may be enough to instill in him the fear of prison.
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Twice this week, first when he was found in contempt for violating his 10th gag order, and then when he audibly heckled Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump spoke out about his misconduct in his ongoing hush money trial. You have been warned.
Will Trump’s next courtroom rant or gag-violating Truth Social post really be the last resort to hold him in contempt of court?
Yes, the court veteran said Wednesday. But that doesn’t have to mean driving a corrections bus to the city’s infamous Rikers Island prison.
Instead, New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan will order a short sentence in a secure, confined space just behind the courtroom, far more likely to give President Trump a taste of prison, experts predict. are doing.
“This is a small preparation room or witness room,” said Arthur Aidala, who is familiar with the space.
Our client, Harvey Weinstein, has lunch with his defense team there every day while former movie mogul Weinstein’s 2020 sex crimes trial is being held in the same 15th-floor courtroom where it is currently being held. was eating.
“There’s definitely a possibility that Mr. Weinstein could put him in a room that he used to use and tell him he can’t leave,” said Aidala, who recently overturned Mr. Weinstein’s conviction.
This room has a single window, cream yellow walls, and a small conference table surrounded by wooden chairs with vinyl cushions.
The door is locked from the outside.
“We went through that door 20, 30 times, and it was pretty dirty inside,” Aidala said. Aidala Bertuna & Cummins.
“We could probably fit about 10 people,” Aidala added of the space. “One former president and nine Secret Service agents.”
“Therapeutic remand”
Arnold Levine, a longtime public defender, said lawyers became famous when a Manhattan judge ordered defendants to cool their heels in the back of the courtroom for several hours.
“This is called ‘therapeutic remand,'” joked Levine, the Justice Department attorney. New York Legal Aid Society Murder Defense Task Force.
“You know this is a serious issue because the judge says, ‘Today you’ll have a taste of prison,'” he explained.
In 1999, Levine himself was remanded for medical contempt of court. After an argument with a misdemeanor judge within the same court.
Another judge soon released him, but Mr. Levin then spent time handcuffed to a courtroom bench and locked in a fourth-floor holding cell.
If prosecutors accuse President Trump of violating the gag order again, they will face the same multi-day motions and oral arguments they faced before his previous two contempt of court charges totaled just $10,000. A process will be triggered.
Levine said if the contempt is committed outside the courtroom, “you get more due process.”
But if Trump takes action internal If he heckled Daniels again Thursday as her cross-examination continued, he would face the same immediate and on-the-spot “summary contempt” arraignment and sentencing that Levin received in 1999. There is a risk of being exposed.
There are probably two major differences. There is no jail cell behind Mr. Marchand’s courtroom, so Mr. Trump will not be confined behind actual bars.
And Trump likely won’t be handcuffed at any point in his custody.
Trump was not handcuffed at his 2023 hush money arraignment. Former Secret Service officials told Business Insider at the time that handcuffing the former president would hinder their ability to protect him if he needed to be thrown to the floor or rushed to safety.
‘take command’
Matthew Galluso, a veteran defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor, said that for most defendants in Manhattan criminal court, incarceration is heralded by a judge telling them “the cops are on the tracks.”
“It’s the worst feeling,” Galluzzo said after hearing those words. “That’s when the judge called court officials and instructed them to surround the defendant so he wouldn’t try to leave the courtroom.”
But to protect himself, Trump already has at least two court officials standing behind him at all times in Marchand’s courtroom. His officers are already “on the rails.”
Galluzzo said reality will set in when the judge issues what is typically the final directive to court officials: “Take charge.”
At that point, Mr. Trump will step back through the door to Mr. Marchand’s right into what was once Mr. Weinstein’s grim, grimy lunchroom.
“This is extremely rare,” Galluzzo said of gag orders for defendants in general. “It’s even rarer to be charged with contempt for a violation. It would be unprecedented for something like this to happen to a former president.”
dip your toes in water
Still, a stint behind the courtroom would be the most likely way for Marchan to “dip President Trump’s toe in the water a little bit and give him a taste of what prison is really like,” Galluzzo said. said.
“I think this is the next step in the escalation,” agreed Daniel Scott, a veteran Manhattan defense attorney who has represented clients in the courts where Trump is on trial for 40 years.
“Rikers would be an absolute nightmare operationally,” Scott said, adding, “It’s bad enough for Joe Schmoe.”
Trump’s trial is in its third week of testimony. He is charged with falsifying 34 business records to conceal a $130,000 hush-money payment that kept Daniels quiet just 11 days before the 2016 election.
President Trump has denied falsifying business records and has called his gag order a violation of his campaign rights.