Letitia James
Former prosecutor says judge's fines against Trump 'send the wrong message'
October 30, 2023 2:48PM ET
Judge Arthur Engoron's $10,000 fine, the second issued to Trump for publicly attacking court staff, "sends exactly the wrong message" as pressure mounts in his many trials, a former federal prosecutor warned.
"I am concerned that with his children testifying this week, with that civil case really going to his brand as an alleged billionaire, with his really possibly leading to his not being able to do any business in New York state whatsoever," Andrew Weissmann said, "that he will continue to act out.
"Judges are going to need to really stiffen their spines because they have to worry about the violence that can come from the call- and-response that the former president is wielding."
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He suggested to MSNBC's Jen Psaki Sunday that fines don't do anything but benefit Trump, saying the former president likes rules he can afford to break because it gives him something to boast about to his base.
Trump is “really good at power dynamics and getting a signal of what he can get away with and what lines people are willing to draw," Weissmann said. “So I think $10,000 in some ways is sending the wrong incentive."
Weismann thinks the judge should level a punishment more likely to force Trump to follow the rules.
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Trump's three children will testify this week in the case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accuses the "alleged billionaire" of inflating the assets of the Trump Organization to defraud investors and lenders.
Engoron has already found the former president liable for fraud. The trial will determine what ramifications the former "The Apprentice" host faces.
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