Veteran journalist and longtime D.C. insider Jonathan Alter proposed punishing Donald Trump with community service after a judge ruled that the former president violated a gag order multiple times.
New York Justice Juan Merchan ruled last week that Trump had violated a gag order at least nine times in a hush money trial for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up an affair with an adult film star. Trump was fined $9,000 for the nine violations.
Merchan was expected to rule on what prosecutors said were additional violations this week.
On Sunday, MSNBC host Alex Witt asked Alter what Merchan could do to stop Trump from violating the gag order — short of jailing him.
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"They appear not to inflict any kind of harm on Trump," Witt said of the fines.
"Well, this is an unlikely thing to happen," Alter replied, "but I have proposed that what he do is what city judges sometimes do and sentence Trump to some brief community service in the parks or on the highway, wearing an orange jumpsuit and picking up trash for a day or two."
"I think that would be a good punishment for him right now, but I doubt that Judge Merchan will use it."
