'Red line': Ex-prosecutor says Trump being put in a holding cell 'needs to happen'
Former senior Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann related Donald Trump's intimidation of jurors to that of a mafia case. It might be enough for the judge to act.
Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Thursday, Weissmann said that Judge Juan Merchan's "red line" likely protects the jurors. Last night, a Fox News host attacked one juror for saying she doesn't believe anyone is above the law. The host said that disqualifies her.
It was a take that shocked Wallace because she believes that is the way the judicial system in the United States should be.
Weissmann said that the Trump opponents shouldn't fear making a martyr out of him, which is something Wallace pushed back on.
"By saying people shouldn't be worried about making him a martyr – are you saying he should be imprisoned if he's viewed after he's had a chance to defend his conduct as violating the gag order?" Wallace asked.
Weismann prefaced his comments by saying that the district attorney is saying that this isn't the first, but the seventh time that Trump has violated the gag order.
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"Yes, the judge could impose things short of prison," said Weissmann. "You could say for some of the violations, there should be increased fines, but we know increased fines do not work. Judge [Arthur] Engoron already issued two sets of fines with respect to Donald Trump. So, he's already had not only one but two bites of the apple. He's been given these warnings."
That's why Weissmann thinks it's time to take more dramatic steps.
"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 explained.
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