Former President Donald Trump has always commanded a larger-than-life presence — but the Manhattan criminal hush money trial could bring that all crashing down, MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang suggested on Thursday.
"I want to know how far this goes," said anchor Jason Johnson. "What is the scale of consequences for Donald Trump continuing to violate the gag order? Because it doesn't seem like anybody has — he's been violating gag orders like crazy. He's a dog chasing cars. He doesn't know what he's going to do but he's going to keep chasing the cars. No one is throwing him in jail. People have penalized him, they said it was bad, they gave him a smack on the wrist and he keeps going. What could actually happen here? What's the worst that could happen if he continues to violate the gag order and heaven forbid, something dangerous happens?"
"The short answer and immediate answer is he could go to jail," said Phang. "He could be incarcerated. That is allowed for under the New York laws and applicable procedures. It's a fine up to $1,000 each time, but it also can be a fine and jail or a fine or jail." This stands in contrast to the penalties Trump got in his civil cases for violating gag orders, where he was fined $15,000....
