Judge weighs whether to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court

Donald Trump is the first sitting or former U.S. president to be a defendant in a criminal trial -- and now a judge is weighing whether to hold him in contempt of court. Prosecutors aren't seeking jail timeJudge Juan Merchan, presiding over the first criminal trial involving a sitting or former president in U.S. history, reserved his decision Tuesday as he weighs whether to holdIt wasn't immediately clear when Merchan might issue a decision.

Prosecutors sought on the trial's opening day to have an order for a hearing on Trump sanctions in conjunction with that gag order, which bars him from attacking witnesses and others associated with his case. They say Trump has violated the order at least 10 times since, and while they're not seeing jail time associated with this contempt charge, they are asking for a warning that includes mention of a possible month-long stay in jail, along with additional fines.

Regarding the 10 instances prosecutors presented in court Tuesday, they say they want a $1,000 fine levied on each one. They also want all those posts pulled from Trump's platform.Trump's lawyers have denied his Truth Social posts willfully violated the gag order. They say his posts were intended to defend himself as a presidential candidate, not to defend himself as a criminal defendant.

They also argued that Trump is"trying" to comply with the gag order -- to which Merchan responded,"You are losing all credibility with the court." The scope of the order is the key to the arguments. The gag order doesn't bar Trump from talking about any witness in the case ever about anything. It bans him from talking about witnesses to the extent it concerns their"potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding."as an immediate punishment, though he could. Merchan is expected to impose a heavy fine along with a warning, which is what prosecutors want.

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