Judge Merchan just last week reportedly cited Trump's own words from his own book when defending his decision to keep the gag order in place and not modify it.
"When you are wronged, go after those people, because it is a good feeling and because other people will see you doing it. Getting even is not always a personal thing. It’s just part of doing business," Trump's book passage reads.
But as The Washington Post reported Monday, Trump's surrogates are saying "the forbidden stuff for him." They "have helpfully stepped forward to offer a timely and convenient service: lodging those same attacks, while appearing at the trial in support of him."
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"Republican lawmakers have appeared at Trump’s trial — even entering and exiting the courtroom with him — and proceeded to say precisely the kinds of things he’s not allowed to."
Because the "kinds of things he’s not allowed to" say violate the gag order.
Politico reports, "Trump's surrogates continue launching verbal attacks that would violate gag order if Trump said them himself."
But according to the text of Trump's gag order, he is "directed to refrain from":
"Making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding; Making or directing others to make public statements" about attorneys "in the case other than the District Attorney," "members of the court's staff and the District Attorney's staff, or the family members of any counsel or staff member" or "any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding."
The prosecution has not indicated it will, but it could ask the judge to examine the "directing others to make public statements" portion of the gag order.
On Tuesday, one of the most powerful elected Republicans in the country, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, became the most high-profile Trump surrogate on the planet.
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Critics are blasting Speaker Johnson, who is second in line to the presidency, for attending the trial Tuesday and for delivering remarks some are calling false, in support of the indicted ex-president and 2024 GOP presumptive nominee.
“When asked for his worldview when Mike Johnson became Speaker of the House and nobody knew anything about him he said, 'you want to know my worldview? Go read the bible, that's what I stand for,'" MSNBC's Willie Geist said Tuesday. "And now today he's at the courthouse defending the guy who's on trial for allegedly paying off a porn star for the alleged affair he had while his wife was home with their infant son.”
Johnson and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) are among those who went and said what the judge told Trump he could not.
Johnson strongly defended Trump Tuesday morning. And following the Trump playbook, he attacked the prosecutor, the judge, and the judge's daughter, which could be deemed a violation of Judge Merchan's gag order against Trump if he decides Johnson's remarks came at Trump's request.
Award-winning journalist Laura Bassett, the former editor-in-chief of Jezebel, responded to that video, writing, "The guy who admitted that he and his son monitor each other’s porn intake is out here publicly lying on behalf of a man who cheated on his wife with a porn star and paid to cover it up."
Calling it "Craven," and "lawless," Bloomberg Opinion Senior Executive Editor Tim O'Brien remarked, "House Speaker Mike Johnson is outside the NY courthouse right now and essentially helping Trump sidestep the court’s gag order by acting as his proxy by attacking the integrity of the trial and judicial process. He’s even targeting Justice Merchan’s daughter."
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Congressman Donalds, who is on the short list to become Trump's vice presidential running mate, also attacked the judge's daughter on Tuesday, from outside the courthouse.
Political commentator Bob Cesca observed, "If you're wondering why Vance, Tuberville, and Johnson are there, it's because of the gag order. They're Trump's voice. The Mouths of Sauron," he wrote, referring to the near-entirely evil creature from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings."
"BTW, asking surrogates to attack witnesses and the judge's daughter is a violation of the gag order," he added.
Former Denver Chief Deputy District Attorney Craig Silverman remarked, "Note how Trump gets Vance and Johnson to violate the gag order for him. Mobster tactic. Make your Trump champions violate the law right along with you. Once they are in for a dime, they are in for a dollar and stuck with MAGA."
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