It's 'chilling' Trump thinks he's not responsible for supporter violence: legal expert
Former senior prosecutor at the Justice Department and former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann pointed to Donald Trump's appeal of the gag order in the 2020 election case, calling it "chilling."
The gag order is under appeal, and Judge Tanya Chutkan had paused it while deciding whether or not it would be fully paused pending appeal. In a filing last week, special counsel Jack Smith explained that pausing the gag order is a dangerous move as he already went on a rant against his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows. It comes at a time when Meadows was reportedly given immunity in the same case.
Chutkan then reinstituted the gag order.
Weissmann said that the thing he finds the most horrifying is the case that Trump's lawyers made for why the gag order should not remain in place.
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"I think it is a question of Donald Trump's own continued words and words where he has seen the consequences of those words that is the reason that you're seeing Judge Chutkan and Judge Engoron take action," said Weissmann. "Because, as they said they're concerned about the targeting of individuals."
He recalled Chutkan's case, saying that there is a fear that jurors, court staff, prosecutors, and even other judges are in danger as a result of the MAGA violence. That's why Weissmann thinks Chutkan is reacting the way she is.
"I think that Judge Chutkan used those words, as you noted, Nicolle, to point out why her order was not unduly vague, meaning that it is important for whoever is subject to an order to know what it specifies because you want to make sure in connection with the First Amendment that you know what's prohibited and what isn't prohibited," Weissmann continued. "And she gave very clear examples in her order saying this is what you could do, this is what you couldn't do and pointed out that in her view that Donald Trump was aware of that and knew exactly what her order specified."
Wallace asked him if he or other prosecutors had seen any other defendant, whether with organized crime or anyone else, who has behaved like Trump. He said simply that he hadn't. Weissmann has tried organized crime cases in New York in the past.
"Quite to the contrary, I've been in cases involving special counsel Mueller's investigation where there were limits placed not just on defendant's counsel, which is standard in the District of Columbia where this a case is, but on defendants [too]," he explained. "Roger Stone being the most notable."
That's when he explained the concerns he has about Trump's ambivalence to violence.
"To your point, Nicolle, and to Tim's point about violence, one of the more chilling aspects of this case was the brief submitted by Donald Trump to the district court saying why there shouldn't be a gag order," said Weissmann. "Saying if there is violence, that's on the people who take up my words and commit the violence. It's not on me, Donald Trump. Saying, 'I can say whatever I want, and if people act on it, don't look at me.' That I find the most chilling because any responsible person who is trying to avoid violence, who is trying to avoid the fear and intimidation, would be saying I'm trying to do everything to not have that happen. To not use my words in a way that they would be used for that."
See the full statement in the video below or at the link here.
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