Before Judge Juan Merchan convened the jury Monday, he addressed the defendant directly, whom he called “Mr.” mentioned. and not President Trump. In a measured and by-the-book tone that betrayed no trace of his annoyance, Merchan told Donald Trump that he had now found him on a tenth count of contempt of court. Each carries a $1,000 fine, the highest allowed under New York State law.
The judge then warned Trump that if he continued to violate his order, “this court will have to consider a prison sentence.”
Merchan told Trump that he was well aware that “you are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president” and that he understood that jailing Trump “would disrupt the proceedings.” The judge said he also had concerns about the court officials, corrections officers, Secret Service and other law enforcement personnel allegedly involved in the incarceration of a former commander-in-chief.
“The magnitude of that decision is not lost on me,” Merchan said. “But at the end of the day, I have a job to do.” Trump's transgressions, he calmly noted, represented “a direct attack on the rule of law, and I cannot allow this to continue.”
As he spoke, the loud clicking of reporters' fingers on their laptop keyboards sounded like the crickets that will appear this summer.
But prison time should not be the only punishment the judge considers. He has wide latitude in imposing sanctions, so why not consider an alternative punishment if he offends again? After all, Trump said last month that it would be his “great honor” to be jailed by this “cunning” judge.
Of course he's bluffing. If he thinks the courthouse bathrooms are “disgusting,” wait until he sees what they look like in the cell. And the bed, if you can call it that, probably won't be up to Mar-a-Lago standards. His hairdresser would not be allowed into the cell, which could be difficult for Trump if he is released and has his picture taken.
Yet Trump should not use his sentence to play the martyr. A more appropriate sanction would build on Trump's history of adopting highways and putting up a sign thanking himself for beautifying them.
If Trump attacks witnesses or the jury again, Merchan should order him to pick up trash from parks on two or three Wednesdays when court is not in session. (City judges have done this before to hold violators in contempt.) Parks would be easier to secure by the Secret Service than roads, and that would spare the officers uncomfortable nights outside his cell.
I imagine Trump needs a long garbage stick because even after losing some weight, he's still too heavy and out of shape to bend. The orange man in the orange overalls would need help picking up all the cigarette butts, Styrofoam coffee cups and old newspapers with headlines about his disgrace.