Trump plays ‘chicken’ with the court
U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya might as well have warned a toddler in a highchair not to throw his spoon onto the floor … again.
During Donald Trump’s first court appearance Thursday on Jan. 6 conspiracy charges, Upadhyaya issued a stern (and unusual) warning to the accused before releasing him on bond:
“It is a crime to try to influence a juror or to threaten or attempt to bribe a witness or any other person who may have information about your case, or to retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution, or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice. Do you understand these warnings and consequences, sir?”
Trump replied in the affirmative, just as he had before the world on Jan. 20, 2017, when he swore to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States” and to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” We know how that worked out.
Violation of those conditions could lead to Trump’s being held until trial and could add to his sentence if convicted, Upadhyaya warned.
The question now is, how many chances will Trump get?
Strike One!
That didn’t take long.
Upadhyaya issued that unusual warning because she knew who was standing before her. But by Friday afternoon , Trump was playing chicken with her warnings. (See his alt-Twitter/X post above.)
By late Friday, the Department of Justice responded (and probably already had this motion for a protective order in draft). They know who they are dealing with, too (The Hill):
The Justice Department on Friday asked a federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington to step in after he released a post online that appeared to promise revenge on anyone who goes after him.
Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue a protective order in the case a day after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and block the peaceful transition of power. The order — which is different from a so-called “gag order” — would limit what information Trump and his legal team could share publicly about the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Such protective orders are common in criminal cases, but prosecutors said it’s “particularly important in this case” because Trump has posted on social media about “witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him.”
Prosecutors pointed specifically to a post on Trump’s Truth Social platform from earlier Friday in which Trump wrote, in all capital letters, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!”
“A certain way of speaking”
But Trump is nothing if not wily. He quickly responded with a claim that his threat was not directed at jurors or prosecutors.
What, me threaten jurors or prosecutors? Not at all! No, he was exercising his free speech rights to threaten RINOs and the Koch Brothers and “Club for No Growth.”
As Marcy Wheeler observes as well, Trump is trying to reinforce the political defense already circulating among his defenders. He had a First Amendment right to lie about the outcome of the 2020 election.
Wheeler writes:
As I’m writing this I keep thinking about the line from the indictment describing that Trump tweeted his implicit threat against Mike Pence during the riot at a moment his advisors left him alone in his Dining Room: “after advisors had left the Defendant alone in his dining room, the Defendant issued a Tweet intended to further delay and obstruct the certification.”
“The president has a certain way of speaking,” former chief of staff Mark Meadows told Michael Wolff, author of several books on Trump’s presidency. “And what he means — well, the sum can be greater or less than the whole.”
Trump operates “much like a mobster,” former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified to Congress under oath. “He doesn’t give you questions, he doesn’t give you orders,” Cohen said. “He speaks in a code, and I understand the code because I’ve been around him for a decade.”
Code should be in quotes. Trump’s “certain way of speaking” is fooling no one except the rubes who lined up to be fooled since the inveterate huckster descended his golden escalator in 2015. That includes preachers and public officials from his party across the country.
How many more strikes before a judge locks up Trump until trial?
UPDATE: I’m appending Glenn Kirschner’s useful explanation of where Trump stands right now.