Trump's attacks on law clerk meant to 'provoke the judge' into anger: ex-prosecutor
Former President Donald Trump's persistent attacks on New York Judge Arthur Engoron's law clerk in the civil fraud trial are not random, argued former federal prosecutor Shan Wu during an MSNBC segment on the gag order against the former president that was temporarily suspended.
Rather, Wu told anchor and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, it's a ploy to try to make Engoron lose his temper and throw the trial.
"I wanted to ask you about the gag order, because I think we're all whiplash in around, trying to figure out what is exactly happening with it," said Psaki. "Why do you think the appellate judge paused the gag order? And what do you think the chances are that it will be fully reinstated? Because we're obviously seeing Trump and his allies act out, shall we say."
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"Well, I think it's pretty common for appeals courts to want to have that type of a freeze, the status quo, so that they can fully adjudicate the legal issues," said Wu. "I think it's misapplied here, because where the real harm is, usually in the state, when there's some aspect of damage, irreparable damage, can't be undone, there's nothing that can't be undone here if you do restrict his right to speak. Because later, he'll get to speak as much as he wants. The remedy for First Amendment speech is more speech, really. These are not cases that he's being prosecuted for his speech. What they are talking about here, in New York, is outside the case, he's saying things that could endanger people, damage the integrity of the process. That's the real danger. So I think it's a mistake to lift that, and we see that from what's happened as soon as it got lifted."
"It's also this question of what impacts them, right?" Psaki pressed him. "Because a lawyer arguing for the judge in the hearing on the gag order said that the clerk was being inundated with messages after her phone number and other personal details were posted on social media by Trump supporters, and many of those messages are antisemitic. How did those impact the decision of the full appellate panel?"
"I think the appellate panel really has to consider what kind of threat there is in the charged atmosphere," said Wu. "It makes perfect sense to control the judicial process by limiting speech in these circumstances. It's really like the old yelling fire in a theater. Which is what they're trying to do. There's kind of a more subtle thing that Trump's lawyers may be doing there too, which is obviously, they hit a raw spot on the judge's clerk. And they just keep poking that. I think there's a hope that it will really provoke the judge into a more angry state, which may give them a better basis for appeal, or maybe even mistrial."
Watch the video below or at the link.
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