'Will not turn out well': Trump may be facing 'considerable financial fines' from Judge Chutkan
September 16, 2023
According to former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, Donald Trump could be on the hook for "serious" financial sanctions levied by United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Tanya Chutkan if he continues to ignore her admonitions about what he can say about his ongoing trial.
Reacting to a report that special counsel Jack Smith is asking for a gag order to keep the former president from harassing witnesses and investigators, Lam suggested that, even if a limited gag order is put in place, that won't necessarily stop the former president from spouting off.
As she told MSNBC host Ali Velshi, Chutkan might be able to get Trump's attention by hitting him in the wallet.
"This is a power struggle between Judge Chutkan and Donald Trump and Judge Chutkan is going to win this battle," she stated. "This is why she will do it in a measured way and [special counsel] Jack Smith is proceeding in a measured way, and they're saying, 'Here is the evidence of what he's done in the past and there is a concern about what he's going to do in the future.' and, Judge Chutkan, what are the tools she has in the toolbox."
"She does not want to arrest him and put him in custody until the election or until the trial -- that's going to be problematic," she continued. "But she can impose pretty considerable financial fines. She can say, 'Your first financial fine, your first transgression is going to be X amount of dollars. The next time you're doing it it's going to be twice that amount' and she can keep going up."
"So once she imposes an order and once he violates that order now we are not really talking about First Amendment so much anymore, we are talking about the court's orders," she elaborated. "With respect to the line where the First Amendment is drawn, it's always a tricky line."
"Remember who Judge Chutkan's ultimate audience is: it's the Court of Appeals and perhaps the Supreme Court," she explained. "Who are they? They are judges. They understand the importance of keeping control over a trial and the judicial system and I think ultimately they're going to play this correctly and it's not going to go well for Donald Trump."
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