Jan. 6 investigator demands 'real consequences' if Trump continues online 'intimidation'
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's demand for a stricter gag order against former President Donald Trump spurred legal experts Monday to demand real consequences.
Speaking to MSNBC on Monday, legal analyst Lisa Rubin raised concerns about Trump's social media attacks against Justice Juan Merchan's daughter and court motions that might delay the upcoming hush money trial.
"Yes, he wants it, said Rubin. "It's not going to work."
Read Also: Michael Cohen: Trump mastered the art of the dodge to avoid accountability — until now
Specifically, Rubin took umbrage with Trump's appeal to an order of criminal contempt.
"What's being appealed there is just an order of criminal contempt, meaning his violation of a particular order," she continued. "That's not going to justify delaying the start of the trial."
Host Nicolle Wallace described Trump's messaging as a tool via "threat, the swatting, the intimidation, the hate speech" and said, "the intimidation and the terror is the point."
Former lead investigator for the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, Tim Heaphy, agreed with Wallace and argued it would not be successful in delaying the trial. In fact, he explained, "it is a reason not to delay."
Heaphy pointed to criminal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, arguing they will be empowered to encourage a quicker trial to help "minimize the risk of this kind of rhetoric," he continued.
"I would not be surprised to see prosecutors, as they try very hard to get these cases on schedule and hold to a schedule to point to these kinds of incendiary statements as a reason to hasten the proceedings," said Heaphy. "A judge can certainly hold a defendant who violates a gag order in contempt, but he or she can also give him his day in court A.S.A.P., as a way to shrink the period of time and make it less and less likely for more rhetoric and more threats."
Heaphy went on to say that Trump continues to "beat the drum, even if it hurts him in court" because it helps with his political argument that he is the victim of a "rigged" system.
"They have called out to a stop to this rhetoric and real consequences," Heaphy said. "That's the only response that makes sense."
Michael Cohen also raised concerns about the Monday filing, claiming that "pre-trial publicity" has made it impossible to get a fair trial in New York.
Trump's lawyers wrote in the filing Cohen has spent years attacking the ex-president in books and on his "Mea Culpa" podcast. The filing even cites Cohen recently referring to the former president as "Donald von Sh-tsInPantz." The lawyer then concludes that, as a result, Trump can't get a fair trial.
“I am never surprised by the feeble attempts of his legal team to delay the D.A.N.Y. case further,” Cohen told Raw Story. "Including me in their motion papers as justification is merely proof positive that he is petrified of this case; as he should be."
See the full conversation in the video below or at the link here.
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