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Thursday, May. 02, 2024

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Why there's yet another gag order hearing at Trump's trial

By Jordan Rubin

Judge Juan Merchan found Donald Trump in contempt on Tuesday for nine gag order violations in his New York criminal case. The state judge imposed the maximum fine of $1,000 per violation and warned Trump of possible incarceration for further defiance.

While imposing the punishment, such as it was, even Merchan acknowledged its relative weakness against this wealthy defendant. But it was nonetheless a historic ruling against the former president and presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

Yet, that epic backdrop sets up a possibly anticlimactic outcome from the latest gag order hearing, set for this morning, over additional alleged violations. The reason is that, even if Merchan were to find more violations, that might yield only more low-level fines. The alleged violations at issue occurred before Merchan issued his ruling Tuesday.

This is a preview of Jordan Rubin's latest article. Read the full column here.

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Tonight, Robert De Niro joins Stephanie Ruhle to discuss how he views the threat to democracy posed by former president Donald Trump, and why he's become more vocal in politics. Watch the 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle tonight at 11 p.m. ET on MSNBC.

On Saturday, watch a special conversation at New York City's historic Apollo Theater hosted by Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow. They discuss Joy's "New York Times" best-selling book, "Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America" and how the mission of these civil rights pioneers is now more urgent than ever. Watch "Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow Live at the Apollo" Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC and streaming on Peacock.

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