Criminal Defendant Donald Trump Defies Judge’s Order Within Hours With Threats And Intimidation Of Judge’s Family (Updated)

So I was sitting in a waiting room yesterday with a TV tuned in to CNN and their Trump arraignment coverage.

Note to Anderson Cooper: stick to what you know, celebrity interviews. This Dude knows nothing about the law or court proceedings. He asked his legal experts the most inane questions. I thought I was going to suffer brain damage. “Just stop!”

The media has learned nothing since the O.J. Simpson trial decades ago. They are still doing exactly the same sensationalist coverage devoid of any content.

Roy Wood Jr., sitting in as the guest host at The Daily Show, did a far better summary of the days events than any of the cable jockeys who get paid the big bucks to do so. His joke about “be sure to cough twice” during a cavity search had me LMAO. Bonus guest appearance by Jon Stewart.

On a more serious note, Judge asks Trump not to incite violence amid volley of online attacks:

In Tuesday’s arraignment of former president Donald Trump, an unusual piece of evidence featured in the prosecution’s presentation to the judge.

Not a bank document. Or an affidavit.

The prosecution invoked a post by Trump on his social networking service, Truth Social, that showed a photo of him holding a baseball bat next to an image of Alvin Bragg, the district attorney in Manhattan who is bringing 34 felony counts against the former president stemming from 2016 hush money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. Trump pleaded not guilty.

The online post was part of the prosecution’s case that the former president has behaved recklessly in the course of the investigation, creating a threatening environment for parties to the case – and those overseeing it – and warranting special measures to safeguard the process.

The judge in the case, Juan Merchan, stressed the importance of Trump’s rights under the First Amendment, especially because he is a candidate for president. But he disputed the defense’s argument that recent broadsides on social media simply reflect the former president’s frustration.

Merchan advised Trump: “Please refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence or civil unrest.” He asked the former president to avoid rhetoric that could “jeopardize the rule of law.”

Trump answered “yes” to the judge’s question if he understood his admonition.

[A} federal law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity, said more dangerous scenarios had yet to emerge but described attacks on the judge and his family as “playing with fire.”

During the arraignment hearing, Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said prosecutors were seeking a protective order designed to prevent the dissemination of materials exchanged in discovery – a phase in which the parties disclose to one another information about witnesses and evidence that will be used at trial.

Prosecutors argued that a protective order was necessary to compel Trump to tone down rhetoric that they said had required the district attorney’s office and New York City to take enhanced security measures in recent weeks.

[T]he judge said he would consider a range of motions while stressing that prosecutors were not seeking a gag order, nor would he issue one barring Trump or his attorneys from speaking publicly about the case. Merchan said, however, that if Trump did not adhere to the terms of the protective order, he could face future consequences or a more restrictive order.

Mary McCord, executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University and a former Justice Department prosecutor, said the judge’s position on a gag order may change if Trump’s conduct remains a concern.

“He will want to be cautious not to tread on Trump’s ability to campaign, but of course you don’t have to encourage or incite violence to campaign,” McCord said.

Daddy’s little helper: Trump Junior’s attempt at legal strategy is to target judge’s daughter:

Oh, the sweet scent of desperation in the air. Donald Trump Junior, paragon of moral fortitude, decided to take justice into his own hands on Truth Social by posting a photo of the daughter of the judge presiding over his father’s porn star hush money trial.

As Junior learned from Daddy, the best way to win a case is through intimidation and badgering the family members of those in charge.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chimed in with a tweet that summed it up perfectly: “Because nothing says ‘innocent’ like threatening a judge’s family.”

Because nothing says “innocent” like threatening a judge’s family https://t.co/hk9fyvdflH

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 4, 2023

Within hours after the judge’s admonition, the criminal defendant himself violated the judge’s order during his grievance filled rant at his home in exile at Mar-a-Lago. Trump targets NY judge’s wife and daughter, hours after warning not to threaten safety:

Former President Donald Trump targeted the family of a New York judge overseeing his indictment, hours after that same judge warned him not to threaten anyone’s safety.

“This is where we are right now. I have a Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and family, whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign,” Trump said Tuesday night in a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Trump was referring to Judge Juan Merchan, six hours after Merchan reportedly told the ex-president in a Manhattan courtroom not to make any comments that could “jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals.” Merchan did not issue a gag order, but advised against statements “likely to incite violence or civil unrest.”

Trump criticized Merchan as “highly partisan” and called his family “well known Trump haters” on his social media platform Truth Social earlier Tuesday. Trump also complained about how Merchan presided over the criminal trial of the Trump Organization where the Trump company’s former CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to financial crimes.

“HE WAS AN UNFAIR DISASTER ON A PREVIOUS TRUMP RELATED CASE, WOULDN’T RECUSE, GAVE HORRIBLE JURY INSTRUCTIONS, & IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH DURING THE WITCH HUNT TRIAL. HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR ‘KAMALA’ & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN. KANGAROO COURT!!!” Trump wrote.

Insider reports Trump did not provide evidence for his claims made about Merchan and his family, but Newsweek noted that the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., posted right-wing articles on social media identifying the judge’s daughter as Loren Merchan, president and partner of Authentic Campaigns. The company’s website says it runs digital campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden-Harris campaign.

Trump’s family also posted photos of Loren and suggested it’s evidence that Judge Merchan is biased against the former president.

“This corruption is on a different level,” Eric Trump tweeted.

Trump’s criminal gang in Congress defends his thuggish behavior, of course. The GQP is a criminal enterprise. Donald Trump Gag Order Leaves Republicans Outraged: ‘Insanity’:

Republican commentators have reacted in disgust to reports that a gagging order may be placed on Donald Trump to prevent him from commenting on his indictment, describing it as “insanity” and “despicable.”

Legal experts have said it is “extremely likely” that such an order will be placed on the former president once he is arraigned. Trump is expected to surrender to law enforcement on Tuesday.

[D]uncan Levin, a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, told Insider on Friday that it was “extremely likely that there will be a gag order in the case.”

“Gag orders are very common in criminal cases, particularly in cases where there is an enormous amount of pretrial publicity like this one,” he added.

[O]n Sunday, the Daily Mail reported that Trump’s legal team was preparing for a gag order, with a source telling the newspaper that they were “considering added a First Amendment lawyer to the effort to combat this and will fight it all the way.”

A gag order is issued by a court to restrict information being made public about the case it is overseeing, usually designed to prevent the release of information that might alter the outcome of the case or parties from commenting on the case. Under New York law, breaching such an order could be ruled contempt, which is punishable by a fine up to $1,000, 30 days in prison, or both at the court’s discretion.

File the motion today.

While a gag order would look to limit the public discourse about the case—which is already in unprecedented territory, with Trump being the first former president to face a criminal indictment—Republicans and Trump allies have joined in his claims that the case is politically motivated, and argued that such an order would deny the former president his right to free speech.

Laura Loomer, a conservative activist and former Republican congressional candidate, described reports of a gag order as “INSANITY”, adding in a tweet: “This is exactly what they did to Roger Stone! Free speech is dead!”

She is very familiar with insanity.

Stone wrote on Sunday that a gag order on Trump “would be unconstitutional and clear election interference,” in an apparent reference to his own trial.

Yeah, no, it isn’t you Coup Plotter insurrectionist criminal.

“It is never a good idea to suspend the Constitution in order to get your political enemies,” Richard Grenell, a political commentator and former acting director of national intelligence under Trump, said. “The ruling party is OUT OF CONTROL.”

Meanwhile, Jenna Ellis, a [Coup Plotter] conservative lawyer who has previously worked for Trump [and had her bar license suspended], said “sick leftists” did not want Trump to speak, which she added was “despicable.”

So the usual suspects behind the January 6 insurrection to overthrow the government support their thug boss and his thuggish behavior. How is this news? They are part of his criminal enterprise.

Of course this grifter con man wants to cash in on the merch from his arrest. Without a mug shot, the Trump campaign creates one for a T-shirt (and coffee mugs, etc.):

Donald J. Trump may not have an actual mug shot, but his campaign team was not going to miss an opportunity to raise money off his arrest on Tuesday with a ready-made meme: a $36 T-shirt bearing the former president’s face in a pretend booking photo.

The “Official Trump Mugshot White Cotton T-Shirt” shows Mr. Trump above a letter board that reads “President Donald J. Trump,” the numbers “45-47” — presumably signifying his status as the 45th and possible 47th president — and the date of his arraignment, above the words “NOT GUILTY.”

In a touch of Trumpian embellishment, his height on the chart behind him appears to tip past 6 feet 5 inches. (In 2016, his doctor listed him as 6 feet 3 inches.)

The T-shirt appeared Tuesday on the website of Mr. Trump’s Save America Joint Fund-Raising Committee, whose proceeds go toward both his 2024 campaign committee and a separate committee known as Save America.

There has never been a more disgusting individual to ever run for political office. American democracy has hit rock bottom with the Trump crime family and the criminal enterprise of the GQP.

UPDATE:

"Noting that he had prosecuted Mafia cases in the past, @AWeissmann_ said, 'You do not have this behavior from a mob boss. There is a rule in organized crime. You do not do this with respect to prosecutors. You don’t do this with respect to the judge. You certainly don’t go after… https://t.co/2oynCUMEwu

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) April 5, 2023