It’s a normal Monday morning in America. The leaves are turning color with the fall season, the birds are heading south, and Donald Trump had explosive hearings in two of his five cases, all the while fundraising to become the 47th president of the United States. Nothing new to see here, move along. But if you’re curious about how Trump is faring legally today, the answer is not very well.
Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a gag order. She spoke of the “contours” of said order and will craft a formal order later today. High on her list of top priorities: Trump can no longer trash Jack Smith to his MAGA cult. No more “deranged” “thug” “lunatic” “animal” and so forth. I’m sure Donald’s tiny thumbs are twitching in impotent rage as we speak. The Hill:
“This is not about whether I like the language Mr. Trump uses,” Chutkan said. “This is about language that dangers the administration of justice.”
Chutkan said her ruling reflected the realities of being a criminal defendant – at one point noting Trump’s four different criminal cases – and saying release conditions allow for restriction on speech.
During the more than two-hour hearing, Chutkan in particular took issue with Trump’s statements calling special counsel Jack Smith a deranged thug.
“I cannot imagine any other criminal case where a defendant is allowed to call a prosecutor deranged or a thug,” she said.
“I will not permit it here simply because the defendant is running a political campaign,” Chutkan added.
Think about what this judge just said: she said that Trump can’t express himself like a vulgar, antagonistic swine, merely because he’s running for our nation’s highest office. This is certainly a landmark in jurisprudence, right here. Not the first, nor last, involving Trump.
Meanwhile, back in New York City, things got explosive when it was revealed that Allen Weisselberg told a Trump Organization executive that yes indeed, Trump did have an expectation that his net worth should go up on his statement of financial condition — whether that was the case or not, apparently.
The bombshell exchange instantly sparked an objection by Trump's lawyer Chris Kise about the admissibility of the testimony.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 16, 2023
Justice Engoron invites briefing on the issue.
No recross.
Birney's testimony ends.
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) October 16, 2023
It also sounds like Mr. Kise knows that and that's why he jumped into the fray — to try a Hail Mary pass doomed to fail, but you try it anyway, right?
— Ursula Faw (@ursulafaw56) October 16, 2023
That’s my take on what just happened, in any event. Trump’s lawyers are out there play acting, not litigating. They know they don’t have a prayer on a legal basis and they can’t win these cases, but there is a larger objective here: getting soundbites and footage for right-wing media so that Trump can continue his run for office.
Right-wing media is a huge industry. I read a sober and sad statistic the other day, that the Epoch Times is the fourth largest subscribed to newspaper in the country. That is frightening, but I don’t doubt it’s true.
11/ With that, Birney is off the stand. His testimony, delivered in monotone with long pauses, was certainly not theatrical. But the actual words he said were devastating to his employer, the Trump Organization–and ultimately to Donald Trump.
— Dan Alexander (@DanAlexander21) October 16, 2023
And this being a court of law, things will be determined by “actual words” and actual numbers and actual facts. Not theatrics and polls. That’s why Trump is so fearful and miserable. He knows that this is what’s going to bring him down.
Judge Chutkan set trial in the January 6 election interference case (not to be confused with the Georgia election racketeering case. You need a spreadsheet to keep Trump’s legal matters sorted out) for March 4, 2024. It is conceivable that in April, 2024, Trump could be convicted on four criminal counts of trying to overthrow the government.
Will that prevent him from running for president? Ask Mike Pence or Ron DeSantis. That’s what they’re banking on. Actually, in truth, every candidate running in the GOP primary is counting on that very thing, with the exception of Chris Christie, who is there for comic relief.
We are watching the things that history students of future centuries will read with their jaws open, assuming that man is still alive, if woman can survive, and all that.
Your “… Think about what this judge just said: she said that Trump can’t express himself like a vulgar, antagonistic swine, merely because he’s running for our nation’s highest office…”. What self respecting electorate would rationally elect a puffed up prig, as described. None. However, it’s borderline a possibility. Hopefully, as you sate above “… It is conceivable that in April, 2024, Trump could be convicted on four criminal counts of trying to overthrow the government…” and that puffed up prig will be decommissioned (for want of better words) and locked up. Keep your fingers crossed.
Silvio berlisconi
Who would vote for a vulgar, antagonistic swine, merely because he’s running for our nation’s highest office?
The answer is simple. Other vulgar, antagonistic swines (that number in the millions). Cult worshippers are voters, too.
We seem to.have a lot of those. Take a gander at the puffed up pigs occupying pews in any evangelical church of Sunday. Start with Hate ex’s an d Jeffers.