Judge 'keeping Trump in line' by dangling mystery penalties over his head: expert

Donald Trump has been antagonizing the federal judge overseeing his second defamation trial, but a legal expert said there's something holding him back from behaving even worse in the courtroom.

U.S. District judge Lewis Kaplan has told the former president to keep his muttered comments to himself or face removal from the courtroom, which prompted Trump to throw up his hands and say he would "love" that, and MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin said that obnoxious behavior seemed to be strategic.

"He is absolutely doing it intentionally," Rubin told "Morning Joe." "One of the things that wasn't picked up in some of the reporting was when Kaplan said to him before the recess, 'You just can't help yourself under the circumstances, can you?' Trump walked out – and there was a lot of cross-talk, it was difficult to hear – but apparently, according to the Associated Press and others, he shot back, 'Nor can you' or 'You can't either.' Trump seems to think he is in a battle of wills with him, Alina Habba does, too, telling the judge, 'I really don't like being spoken to like that.'"

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"But I think what is most threatening to Donald Trump is he doesn't know what Kaplan is going to do next," Rubin added. "Kaplan hasn't made a specific threat. He said, 'I can eject you from the courtroom.' But Trump doesn't know whether Kaplan will fine him or hold him in contempt, bar him from testifying. There are any number of measures Kaplan can take, and the fact that he hasn't been clear about which one he will choose is what is keeping trump as much in line as he has been, even though his conduct is unbecoming of any person in the courtroom."

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