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Prison Time for Trump? Maybe Judge Merchan Can Jail Him For Contempt [1]
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Date: 2025-01-07
Despite the super-sized clown car ready to roll up to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Donald Trump is still a private citizen. And his appearance in court remotely still does require acceptable decorum from #DonaldDuce. And if he can’t contain himself, Trump is still under threat of Contempt of Court charges.
My guess is that Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan will start the sentencing proceeding saying exactly what he thinks of Trump’s demeanor in court, the severity of the charges, and the damaging nature of the jury verdict.
And within the first minute, Trump will go off on him. My guess is that Judge Merchan will cut him off, saying,
“Mr. Trump, you’ve violated your agreement granting you remote presence within the court today for your sentencing. Therefore these proceeding will continue at 10 AM on Monday with you here in the courtroom. There is no appeal to this decision, being that a charge of Contempt of Court is now levied, and the first penalty is your presence here.
Subsequent violations may include temporary incarceration on site, and with other violations, the duration of that stay will grow. Please bear in mind that penalties may also grow if there are any statements that are derogatory to this court, its proceedings, or about me and my family on social media or as part of an interview.
Do you agree to these terms regarding your first charge of Contempt of Court?”
Trump will look at his lawyers, then utter under his breath, “Yes.” Then after a nudge he’ll amend it to: “Yes Your Honor.”
To which Judge Merchan replies:
“That is all. This court will see you at 10 AM on Monday.”
And after Trump arrives on Monday, looking smug and superior, Judge Merchan will first go over all the violations of his gag order regarding this case, perhaps noting the “thin ice” that Trump is standing on. Then Merchan would likely plan to revisit his statements from Friday. Then would come the sentencing, whereupon he’d ask Trump to stand up to receive it.
The question is: how likely is it for Trump to listen quietly? And if he can’t, what would his second offense be? My guess is 90 minutes of detention just outside the courtroom. How about the next one? 24 hours? And after that, three days?
Let’s hope that the final sentence does include the threat of further Contempt of Court incarceration after Trump leaves. Quick thought...does D.C. have an extradition arrangement with New York?
I hope that the last contempt charge comes when Trump refuses to stand up to receive his sentence. Knowing Trump’s inability to contain himself, maybe he’ll receive his inauguration, sworn on one of his designer Bibles in a NYC jail.
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