His warning also presented the former president – who has weaponized his four criminal indictments into a narrative of political martyrdom – with his own dilemma. Elie Honig, a CNN senior legal expert, said that he still believed it was unlikely Trump would end up jailed for contempt of court. He told Trump: “You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president, as well. There are many possible reasons why voters may not be moved by this first trial of a former president. On Monday for example, prosecutors took former Trump employees through complicated financial transactions to lay a paper trail for future testimony from higher-profile witnesses.

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Persons: Donald Trump, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Trump, wasn’t, ”, ” Merchan, –, “, Elie Honig, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Jack O’Donnell, CNN’s Erin Burnett, O’Donnell, Merchan’s, you’ll, ” Trump, it’s, Daniels, Joe Biden, he’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, GOP, Trump Plaza Hotel, White Locations: United States, Casino, Atlanta, Georgia, Manhattan