Trump cannot keep his trap shut
Hours after returning to his Palm Beach, Florida compound on Tuesday after indictment in New York, former president Donald Trump no longer appeared chastised. The thirty-four felony charges he faces seemed not to have sunk in. Nor Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan’s warning that he not engage in statements or comments that have the “potential to incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals.”
New York prosecutor Christopher Conroy addressed Trump’s social media outbursts during the arraignment. He told Merchan, “We have significant concern about the potential danger this kind of rhetoric poses to our city, to potential jurors and witnesses, and to the judicial process.”
“This is a request I’m making,” Merchan responded. “I’m not making it an order.” But he would revisit that decision should circumstances require it. So, no immediate gag order on the voluble, attention-seeking former president.
In a typically falsehood-laden speech later that day, Trump told supporters in Florida, “I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for [Vice President] Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign.” Pundits debate whether or not Trump crosssed a line hours after Merchan drew it.
Sources told NBC that within hours, Merchan and his family have received multiple threats. Anyone conscious since the George W. Bush administration could have seen this coming:
One official said “dozens” of threats have recently been directed at Judge Juan Merchan and his chambers but did not give an exact time frame for them.
The other source said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other top officials in his office continue to receive threats. The threats have been in the form of calls, emails and letters.
The New York police detail assigned to the DA’s office is providing extra security to all affected staff members. Court officers, meanwhile, are boosting security for the judge and the court as a whole as a precaution.
Other steps have been taken, as well. Online bios of employees at the Manhattan district attorney’s office were recently removed from the DA’s website, according to a source familiar with the matter, because of troubling posts on social media, including Trump’s Truth Social platform.
Court spokesman Lucian Chalfen told reporters Merchan and the court had no comment. But others did (Axios):
“There is no court that would want to impose a gag order on a president of the United States,” J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge and lawyer who advised former Vice President Pence, told Axios.
But “if the former president forces the Manhattan criminal court, the court will have no choice.”
Trump has never been one for prudent silence. He’ll step over the line and step over the next until he forces Merchan’s hand.
Zoom in: Trump’s performance led legal minds to debate when he might cross Merchan’s line in the sand on rhetoric.
- “A gag order is used to protect the defendants’ rights to a fair trial and also the government’s rights to a fair trial, so that the potential jurors don’t learn anything about the case that they’re not going to learn in court,” said Mike Scotto, a criminal defense lawyer and former Rackets Bureau Chief for the Manhattan DA.
- During Tuesday’s hearing, Trump attorney Todd Blanche explained that Trump’s previous rants on social media were because he was “upset” and “frustrated” by the New York case.
- “I don’t share your view that certain language is justified by frustration,” Merchan said.
Trump would use any gag order for fundraising and whine about how persecuted he is. He has spent his life dodging responsibility for his behavior and is not going to take any now. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutor Fani Willis will be watching closely.