Gag orders and Donald Trump are not a match made in heaven, let’s just say that much. As has been oft-quipped, “Trump has the right to remain silent, he just doesn’t have the ability.” Therefore, he has had two narrowly tailored gag orders imposed on him by two different judges, Arthur Engoron in New York and Tanya Chutkan in Washington, D.C. Trump has violated the terms of the New York gag order and the judge fined him $5,000 today. That’s Trump’s final warning. If he can’t get it this time, he may end up sitting in jail for a period of time and there will be nothing his lawyers can do about it. Contempt of court is contempt of court. Anybody else would have already been in a jail cell.
Be that as it may, Trump’s lawyers decided to appeal the other gag order in the January 6 election interference case (not to be confused with the Georgia state case for election racketeering) and as usual the pleadings lend themselves to laughter. First up out of the gate is the idea that Trump is special and running for president exculpates him from following the law. Good luck with that one.
“No Court in American history has imposed a gag order on a criminal defendant who is
campaigning for public office—least of all, on the leading candidate for President of the United States. This Court’s Opinion and Order of October 17, 2023, Doc. 105 (the “Gag Order”), is the first of its kind. Given its extraordinary nature, one would expect an extraordinary and compelling justification for the Gag Order. But that is conspicuously absent. Instead, the Court generically states it must enter the Gag Order to prevent supposed “threats” and “harassment.” This theory falters under even minimal scrutiny.”
They gave justification for the gag order. Words like “deranged” “thug” “maniac” “lunatic” and we could go on, were cited by the judge. There’s plenty of justification for the gag order. Ask Mitt Romney, Anthony Fauci, Mark Milley or any number of people that Trump has threatened, bullied, vilified or insulted, and they’ll tell you how much they pay for private security firms to guard themselves and their families. Yet Trump doesn’t see this as “threats” or “harassment.” What does he see it as? A divinely conferred right to run his mouth and make peoples’ lives hell because he’s the Chosen One?
His motion goes on to argue that the gag order was overbroad and indeed it was not. Neither Judge who issued a tailored gag order was overbroad. They basically asked Trump to not disparage judges, prosecutors, witnesses, staff or anybody associated with the case at bar. That’s pretty narrow and specific.
But Trump needs to argue these things and his lawyers will present whatever argument as long as they’re being paid for it, apparently. The first paragraph of the Factual Background is good. It’s pure fluffing.
President Trump is the forty-fifth President of the United States and the leading candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election. He has dominating leads in the race for the Republican nomination, and he leads President Biden—the executive currently prosecuting him—in general election polling. President Trump’s political speech reaches the largest audience in American history, including over 100 million followers on social media across several platforms and countless other citizens who listen to President Trump’s messages in person, on television, the internet, newspapers, and other media.1
Joe Biden isn’t prosecuting him. The caption does say “Joe Biden v. Donald J. Trump.” It says, “The United States Of America,” v. Donald J. Trump. The lawyers know this. Anybody who’s ever typed a legal pleading knows this. And needless to say it’s irrelevant how Trump is polling but hey, they’re throwing it in there and looking for where to stick the kitchen sink next.
I do love that his “political speech reaches the largest audience in American history.” I think that distinction still belongs to Franklin D. Roosevelt the day after Pearl Harbor, or Lyndon F. Johnson the day that JFK was assassinated, but I could be wrong. Maybe Trump trumps them both. He certainly wants you to believe he does.
“In entering the Gag Order, the Court relied heavily on the anticipated reactions of
unidentified, independent third parties to President Trump’s speech. The Court found that “when Defendant has publicly attacked individuals, including on matters related to this case, those individuals are consequently threatened and harassed.” Id. at 2. But the Court cited no evidence that President Trump’s statements—as distinct from the statements of millions of others—caused such alleged threats or harassment, let alone that the statements were directed to inciting imminent lawless action.”
He’s apparently looking for the court to prove up the causal connection between Trump running his mouth and MAGAs showing up in D.C. and I have no doubt whatsoever that Jack Smith is going to do a bang up job of that. However, he will do that when he presents his case in chief and not use his evidence to prove up the gag order.
Trump loves to play victim and this is him doing that yet again. The gag order is non appealable. He’s spinning his wheels. Why he bothers is the real question.
A malignant narcissist who’s been insulated from his behavior by a CORRUPT LEGAL SYSTEM, built by rich, white, men, has no ability to consider anything but himself. He has no idea what average folks HAVE TO ENDURE on a daily basis. He’s an American version of Hamas, i.e., willing to do beastly evil, killing and damaging others without conscience or any sort of morality. FACT. The day he takes a dirt nap will be a good thing. Until then, expect him to continue to act the same way he has for almost eight decades.
Just to note on the HAMAS comment, you might want to note that the Israeli government hasn’t been exactly too heartbroken at the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians (on the West Bank and in Gaza) who die as a result of Israeli “retaliation.” Oh, yeah, the Israelis make a big deal about how the “terrorists who hide among civilians” but they conveniently forget that EVERY ADULT ISRAELI CITIZEN (male and female, up to at least the age of 40) is considered, at the very least, a reserve member of the Israeli Defense Forces so, technically, when Israeli “civilians” die in a terrorist attack, most of those civilians can be considered by HAMAS and Hezbollah as “legitimate enemy targets hiding among the innocent.”
This country’s media is way too pro-Israel and willing to provide all sorts of cover for Israeli actions. When the UN tries to sanction Israel for its DECADES of violating UN resolutions against Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the US covers Israel’s butt. Even recent UN Security Council resolutions which would condemn not only HAMAS’s actions but also Israel’s absolutely brutal response (and holding the Netanyahu government complicit by helping HAMAS get installed as the government in Gaza), the US vetoed it. And the US has done absolutely nothing over the last 30 years to cut aid to Israel over its continued, illegal building of settlements on Palestinian land (nor the thousands of Palestinian homes which have been razed to the ground). Nope. America makes a threat, Israel “promises” to stop, America sends more money, Israel builds more settlements. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Plus, everyone is talking about Israel’s right to defend itself. What about Palestinians right to defend themselves? Nobody’s talking about that.
When the pressure cooker that Palestinians live under inevitably once and again erupts Palestinians are labeled as terrorists though Israel’s “answer” to that eruption – which I have no doubt they saw coming and in fact invited – is described by western media and relief agencies more or less as an act of god.
In fact I’m cynically tired of UNICEF and other relief agencies begging for money to save what’s left of life for the Palestinians. I gladly send money to such organizations to help with cleaning up after hurricanes, earth quakes and other natural disasters. Nothing is natural about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians.
I say to all these help orgs that fixing what Israel broke for them is actually subsidizing Israel’s warfare. I wont have any part in that.
While you make legitimate arguments there are few things that are left out. First Israel was granted its state status by the UN in the 1940’s and Palestine has threatened to wipe them off the map since. Note the decade its in right after Jewish people where massacred in WW2 through horrific means so having mandatory service makes sense. Also being trained as a solider and wearing the uniform and engaged in hostilities is a very different thing. Based on how you worded it that would mean all veterans around the world regardless of age are legitimate military targets myself being one of them. Does that mean because I don’t wear a uniform but am trained makes me a target? If that’s the case then the rules of war no longer apply including rules of engagement and that means open season to anyone that is a threat based on your words and logic.
Israel has no civilians, worst argument I have ever heard.
Beautifully written. The down votes are all jerks who obviously don’t know history!
Everything is a Game of “one-up-man-ship” with Trump. He HAS to have the last word or words! He is one of the most DYSFUNCTIONAL & immature “adult”, that I have ever seen!
While Traitor Tot may have the body of an elderly man, his mind never got past the “terrible twos”!
Fine = slap. Jail = backhander. Wonder how long it takes for the backhander to materialise.
The entire point of these motions by Traitor Trump & his incompetent law teams is:
(1) Delay, stall and hope to extend the trial(s) Judgments and sentencing beyond November 5, 2024, then have Trump claim he won the Presidency in 2024 so he can claim he can no longer be prosecuted, cases all closed; and
(2) Meanwhile, air every step of every trial in the court of MAGAt public opinion. This is to escalate the generation of hate propaganda directed toward his long list of enemies with the goal of increasing death threats & insane MAGAt terrorist attacks against his enemies – while also fund-raising off that propaganda from the gullible MAGATs.
A 5k fine is NOTHING to him as he grifted that in the time the judge ruled. When are these phuckers going to uphold the LAW????? Oh, I know…never. Ted Bundy should have been fined a dollar and released. Trump has killed far far more people including the latest…a six year old boy. He’s dead because Trump vilified Muslims since 2015. Another Maga casualty. There will be more. Count on it. If it were my six year old…Trump would have more than 5k to worry about, even if it took me years to stalk his ass. Man on Fire…
Joseph…I agree with you completely. I’ve technically been a Jew,(with a fancy certificate), since 1979. Of course, like Groucho, I don’t really want to belong to any group that would have me as a member. I lost a good friend who became incensed at me for asking how could the Jews, after the Holocaust and all the oppression through the centuries, be OK with running an apartheid system since 1948, shooting children throwing rocks. He’s never spoken to me again. He’s a Zionist from an ultra wealthy family, who HASN’T ever experienced deprivation or confinement. I defer to the line in the Gladiator. When Maximus hears his subordinate ask why the Germanic warriors won’t accept they’re conquered, he replied “would you? would I”? The whole idea that some unseen force called Yaweh gave them the land is not only bull, but they violate the Torah daily. It’s time reason and justice were considered. Zealots on BOTH sides need to be dealt with by reasonable people on BOTH sides. It is needed more than ever, but the US is NOT an innocent partner.
if only the fat orange bastard would explode literally. us non-calt members can continue to hope that stress works its magic on the orange bozo. the begging billionaire will grift the five grand from his cult members in no time. he’ll probably go door to door from one trailer park to the next.