Donald J. Trump was fined another $1,000 for again violating a gag order as his trial enters its third week of testimony. Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of it, could soon take the stand.
  • Rapidcreek@lemmy.world
    1774·
    8 months ago

    Said Merchan (per NBC News), "The last thing I want to do is to put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next president as well. There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for you.”

    I don’t care what job the defendant used to have or what job he’s applying for, and neither should Judge Merchan.

    He MUST be treated like any other defendant or we don’t have a functioning democracy or a justice system.

    Referencing his previous job or status as a political candidate is actually ‘special treatment’ and the judge absolutely should not be doing that. trump is a criminal defendant in a court of law, and the court of law is supposed to apply the law equally the same to all citizens.

    • Nougat@fedia.io
      941·
      8 months ago

      Trump’s nonsense immunity claim doesn’t even apply here. He is not president. He has been found in criminal contempt for actions he took when not president.

      I am 100% certain that everyone is handling him with kid gloves because they know that treating him like any other defendant would likely result in violence. Well, guess what? There’s gonna be violence in November (and/or January and beyond) no matter what the election results are. Trump loses? Violence because “stolen election.” Trump wins? Violence because “Now we can hurt all the people we’ve always wanted to hurt.”

      It’s not a matter of “if.” It’s “when” and “to what extent.” Justifiably jailing Trump controls the “when,” making the response to “to what extent” more effective. It would also force Trump and his menials’ hands before the election.

      Let’s fucking go.

      • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        301·
        8 months ago

        It turns out America doesn’t just negotiate with terrorists; it in fact completely abandons any illusion of democracy, or a justice system, under the threat of terrorism — as long as it’s an oligarch from the private elite boys club.

        LOL

      • LeadersAtWork@lemmy.world
        3·
        8 months ago

        You’re absolutely right that they are treating him with kid gloves due to the very real potential for violence. It is my belief they are trying to curb that guaranteed damage as much as possible. I am in agreement that he should have the book thrown at him and get special treatment for a weekend in a jail cell. Let him bring his slippers.

        BUT…I do get it. Assuming we’re right and they are trying to curb that violence, this does make sense. It just fucking sucks.

    • Delusional@lemmy.world
      191·
      8 months ago

      Everyone knows he’s been getting special treatment from the start. Idk why saying it out loud is a no-no.

    • evatronic@lemm.eeEnglish
      11·
      8 months ago

      Honestly, I read the judge’s statement as a sort of appeal to Trump’s ego and integrity. Like a, “Come on bro, you were the president, don’t make me throw you in jail,jackass.”

      It’s mostly performative, so the judge can say he didn’t want to when he eventually gets has to.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
      556·
      8 months ago

      He said he would sentence jail next time. Merchan is avoiding justification for a mistrial. It’s a good thing.

      • hoshikarakitaridia@lemmy.world
        476·
        8 months ago

        Yeah it bothers me so much that ppl don’t realize how the legal process works. If merchan makes any mistakes, his decision will get overturned. I want trump convicted and I want him to be unable to change that.

        • meleecrits@lemmy.world
          674·
          8 months ago

          To be fair, he was supposed to put up over $400 million to prevent asset forfeiture with a hard deadline. He ended up posting bond for about a quarter of that, nearly a month after the deadline with no consequences.

          A lot of people are rightfully skeptical that he’ll never face consequences for his illegal acts.

        • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
          341·
          8 months ago

          Yeah it bothers me so much that ppl don’t realize how the legal process works.

          I want the legal system to work the same for Trump as it would for me. Is that so much to ask? How many times do you suppose I could defy the court before ending up with either 1) a fine that was sizable enough to actually matter to me or 2) jail time?

          • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
            154·
            8 months ago

            The law in NY defines how much the fines are and how long someone could be held in jail. It would be illegal for the judge to issue a fine larger than what he’s been issuing, which would give Trump a reason to go to a higher court to seek Merchan’s removal, or at the very least delay the case

            • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
              191·
              8 months ago

              The law in NY defines how much the fines are

              So like all fines, they are only a punishment for the poor and middle class.

              and how long someone could be held in jail.

              Sweet, how long is that, and how many times does he have to fuck up before he ends up there for contempt the way I would?

              Edit - pretty sure it’s X + 1 times, where X is always however many times he’s fucked up to date.

              • protist@mander.xyzEnglish
                105·
                8 months ago

                I understand you feel angry, but Merchan has been clear with Trump that jail is on the table moving forward, and I completely respect him not jumping the gun and throwing Trump in jail on a whim. By giving Trump ample opportunities to correct his behavior with warnings of jail time for future violations, he’s setting it up so Trump’s legal team will have no basis to argue Trump didn’t deserve this when they try to remove Merchan from the case or try to appeal

                • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
                  123·
                  8 months ago

                  I understand that but - is jail time not always on the table when you repeatedly ignore orders from a judge in their own courtroom? Does it need to be TEN TIMES to qualify for not jumping the gun? And do you really believe that “next time” he will get jail? (I do not.)

                  Meh.

                  2 legal systems. That’s what’s on display here. Whether there is justification or not. I don’t fault you for accepting the justification, but this is proof there is one system for the rest of us (which will chew us up and derail our lives over relatively minor infractions), and one system for folks like Trump. (who will die of old age living a 1% lifestyle without ever going to jail, IMO.)

                  My frustration is not directed at you, you are just the unfortunate recipient.

        • Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social
          4·
          8 months ago

          Only because Trump has money for those appeals. Any other person would have been in jail already, because only the rich get a pretense of justice.

        • frezik@midwest.social
          3·
          8 months ago

          The infractions being cited on this second go all happened before the first hearing had happened. He’s not moving any goalposts. Infractions that happen after the first hearing do have jail as the result.

        • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
          2·
          8 months ago

          No, last time he stated that he could. This time he reinforced his stance against jailing a former president, but made it clear he would if another violation occurs. He’s playing it by the book.

    • randon31415@lemmy.world
      2·
      8 months ago

      These infractions came before he was fined the first time, but after the imposing of the gag order. Got to have him break the gag order after the judge says he’ll throw him in jail in order to get causality right.

  • Pretzilla@lemmy.world
    58·
    8 months ago

    Sentence him to community service, picking up trash on the side of the highway in an orange jumpsuit. 40 hours per count.

    He wants to be jailed for his fundraising wet dream, so don’t give him that.

    Ed: looks like it’s getting some traction! (gift link)

    Jail for the Chief? There’s a Better Punishment. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/06/opinion/trump-contempt-jail-punishment.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qE0.7izo.wEQIT2d_JJSW

  • TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee
    411·
    8 months ago

    Judge said next he will jail him because fines “are not working”.

    Sounds like the jury told him to say that. He better go on his money laundering scam Truth Social and rant about how unfair it all is.

    • athos77@kbin.social
      21·
      8 months ago

      Just to put the timeline straight: Marchan issued the gag order, trump retweeted 10 things that might have violated it, Marchan said that was wrong, trump said he hadn’t violated it, Marchan scheduled a hearing. Before the hearing occurred, trump again retweeted ?3? things that might have violated it. Marchan holds the hearing, finds trump in contempt on 9 of the 10 items - it’s at this point that trump’s retweets are established as mostly violating the gag order.

      Today’s hearing was in regard to the ?3? retweets made prior to the first hearing. He’s getting a fine today because the [comical] argument would’ve been made that, at the time of those, ?3? retweets (before the first hearing), he still believed his actions weren’t in contempt.

      I’m not sure if he’s done anything since that first hearing that might violate the gag order, but that’s when the clock started ticking. And, unfortunately, it only started ticking for those kind of violations. He might decide to try smirking finger-guns next, and argue that he was only just enthusiastically greeting an old friend :/

  • Stovetop@lemmy.world
    10·
    8 months ago

    My god, you can see straight through his sad, fake, whispy hair to his deformed, pasty, Darth Vader scalp below in that thumbnail.