Ex-Trump lawyer blames Michael Cohen for Trump's inability to control himself online
Donald Trump's latest outbursts that prosecutors say violated the gag order in his hush money trial were egged on by a key witness in the case, his former White House lawyer told CNN on Friday.
Speaking to Wolf Blitzer, Jim Schultz said that as long as Cohen is speaking out, then Trump will continue to as well.
"Look, I said this time and time again," Schultz prefaced. "If someone thinks they're going to control what Donald Trump does on Truth Social, as it relates to this trial, they are sadly mistaken.
"The judge can do the best he can in trying to control that. He only has so many tools at his disposal. He's not going to throw the former president in jail. He can admonish him, he can fine him, he can make it very difficult for him, and he can make it difficult for the lawyers."
But in the end, Schultz said, Trump will use his social media site "as early and as often" as he wants. And, he said, one of his main targets is encouraging him to do it.
"With Michael Cohen, you have Michael Cohen out there tweeting about the former president, egging on, almost asking for a battle over social media with the former president," said Schultz. "So, if he's going to continue to do that, as I said, I expect Donald Trump is going to respond in kind."
Cohen on Friday published his latest "Mea Culpa" podcast online. In it, he said that he won't be talking about the inner workings of the case because the lawyers are already asking jurors if they listen to his shows or read his book.
Speaking to MSNBC on Thursday, George Conway, former spouse to top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, explained that even he has the power to needle Trump into testifying.
"He will be told it is insane for any lawyer to give him advice to testify in his own defense," Conway explained. "But then, you know, what is going to happen when someone like me goes on a show and says, 'Donald, Donald, you're scared! Your lawyers are making you look scared'?"
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That perceived lack of self-control has led prosecutors to surmise that the only option for the judge is to put Trump in jail, even if just for a few hours.
In the same panel as Conway, former top Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told the group that Judge Juan Merchan's "red line" likely protects the jurors.
"So, I do think that when you get to — particularly jurors, and pernicious effectiveness, that the prospect of some form of jail time, even if it's a timeout in a holding cell, it's something that I think in very short order is going to need to happen," he said.
See the interview with Schultz below or at the link here.
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