Eric Adams, mayor of New York, during a New York State Financial Control Board meeting in New York, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. The New York State Financial Control Board discussed the Fiscal Year 2023 adopted budget and financial plan. (Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump is currently on trial in Manhattan for 34 counts of falsifying business records. The case stems from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has repeatedly denied the affair and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization and the president reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony.
Views of the New York City jails on Rikers Island, as seen from a departing flight from Laguardia Airport on December 10, 2022 in Queens, New York. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images) (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
"The last thing I want to consider is jail," Merchan said. "You are [the] former president and possibly the next president."
In the judge’s initial gag order ruling last week, he threatened Trump with jail time if he further violated the order, while also lamenting not being able to fine Trump more than $1,000 for each violation.
Merchan wrote in last week's order that if Trump carries out "continued willful violations" of the gag order, he could face "incarceratory punishment" if "necessary and appropriate."
In the text of his order, Merchan lamented that the fines' costs "unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine."
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Merchan continued that it would be "preferable" if the court "could impose a fine more commensurate with the wealth of the contemnor."
"In some cases that might be a $2,500 fine, in other cases it might be a fine of $150,000. Because this Court is not cloaked with such discretion, it must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment," he said, highlighting again that Trump could face time behind bars if he continues violating the order.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 7, 2024 in New York City. Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, which prosecutors say was an effort to hide a potential sex scandal, both before and after the 2016 presidential election. Trump is the first former U.S. president to face trial on criminal charges. (Win McNamee/Pool via REUTERS)
Fox News reported earlier Tuesday that the Secret Service is holding internal discussions on how to handle a potential jail order for the 45th president. The Secret Service has not publicly weighed in on the report, but allegedly kicked off strategies of handling a potential jail order on Monday.
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Rikers Island is located in the Bronx on the East River. It holds about 6,000 inmates, according to city data published last year.
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
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