
When the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial found on May 6 that Trump had violated a gag order for a 10th time, he told him that “the last thing I want to do is to put you in jail.”
“You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president, as well,” said Justice Juan Merchan, reflecting on the momentous weight of such a decision.
Whether to jail the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president is a choice that Merchan may soon face again, if jurors in Trump’s “hush money” case vote to convict him. Closing arguments began Monday, with jury deliberations to follow.
What exactly would happen if the jury finds Trump guilty is difficult to predict. Trump is being…