Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan has once again demonstrated why he is a favorite opponent of former President Donald Trump in his hush money trial. However, he admitted that Trump may win the presidency next year.

Merchan slapped Trump with another gag order violation just hours into Monday’s hearing, declaring that remarks he made about the jury in a recent interview amounted to attacks on people who could reasonably fear for their safety as a result.

“The defendant violated the order by making public statements about the jury and how it was selected,” Merchan wrote, according to CNN. “In doing so, the defendant not only called into question the integrity, and therefore the legitimacy of these proceedings but also raised the specter of fear for the safety of the jurors and of their loved ones.”

During an appearance on the conservative news streaming service, Real America’s Voice, Trump criticized the speed at which the jury was selected for his trial and remarked that 95% of them were Democrats.

He also expressed his belief that the area where the trial was taking place was predominantly Democratic, and called the situation unfair.

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As a result of this statement, Trump has been fined an additional $1,000, bringing his total fines to $9,000 for nine violations related to his posts on Truth Social. Judge Merchan also issued a warning that any future violations could result in jail time.

“It appears that the $1,000 fines are not serving as a deterrent. Therefore, going forward, this court will have to consider a jail sanction,” Judge Merchan said, according to the Associated Press. Trump’s continued statements, he added, “threaten to interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitute a direct attack on the rule of law. I cannot allow that to continue.”

However, Merchan said that jailing Trump is the “last thing I want to do.”

“You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president. There are many reasons why incarceration is truly a last resort for me. To take that step would be disruptive to these proceedings,” Merchan said.

Jailing Trump could be a gift in disguise for the Republican frontrunner, whose campaign has previously highlighted Judge Merchan’s daughter—a high-level Democratic operative—when framing the trial as a witch hunt perpetrated by political opponents.

Testimony continued Monday with other individuals deep inside Trump’s orbit during the 2016 campaign.

On Friday, jurors heard from Hope Hicks, the top communications staffer during Trump’s 2016 campaign and through the first year of his administration.

Hicks delivered a blow to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s contentions that President Trump disguised a six-figure hush money payment to an adult film star as a business expense and instead should have listed it as a political campaign expense.

According to Hicks, Trump’s number one priority was protecting his family and former First Lady Melania Trump from the smears.

After the Wall Street Journal ran a story days before the election detailing a payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and mentioning Daniels, Hicks said Trump was “concerned how it would be viewed by his wife,” asking her to ensure a paper was not delivered to his house that day.

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