Former President Donald Trump said he would be "very proud" to go to jail for violating the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan in his New York paperwork trial.
"If anything is mentioned against certain people, and you know who they are, certain people, anything's even mentioned, he wants to put me in jail," Trump said Friday after court wrapped for the day, according to The Hill.
"And that could happen one day. And I'd be very proud to go to jail for our Constitution. Because what he's doing is so unconstitutional."
Merchan on Monday ruled Trump had committed 10 violations of the gag order and fined him $1,000 for attacking jurors. Last week, the judge fined the former president $9,000 for nine social media posts he found violated the gag order.
Merchan warned that future violations could result in jail time, telling Trump the "last thing I want to do is put you in jail," but "at the end of the day, I have a job to do."
While the gag order prohibits Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, members of the jury, court staff and Merchan's family, it does not bar him from going after Merchan or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has raged against the restrictions on his speech, claiming they violate his First Amendment rights to respond to political attacks.
The former president pointed out on Friday that the gag order limits what he can say about certain people, but others, such as former Trump-lawyer-turned-key-witness, Michael Cohen, are not similarly restricted.
The judge directed prosecutors on Friday to ask Cohen to refrain from making public statements about the case before his testimony next week.
Trump's attorneys have frequently criticized Cohen's public attacks on his former boss, since Trump is unable to fully respond without violating the judge's order.
Todd Blanche, Trump's lawyer, requested that Cohen be gagged "in the same way President Trump is."
"I will direct the people to communicate to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from any more statements about this case," Merchan said, according to The Hill.
Trump reportedly responded by saying, "What the judge did was amazing, actually."
"Everybody can say whatever they want," he said. "But I'm not allowed to say anything about anybody. It's a disgrace."
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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