Former President Donald Trump is doing his best to manipulate, intimidate, and scare away witnesses in the leadup to his federal 2020 election charges going to trial, argued former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti on Friday.
This comes as a federal appeals court upheld the gag order placed upon Trump by Judge Tanya Chutkan.
"I think this is a court masterfully dealing with the defendant, who is so unique," said Mariotti, speaking on MSNBC. "Here's a defendant who can actually send a message directly to a witness just by, you know 'truthing,' I guess, not tweeting anymore. But if Trump had made these statements directly to witnesses, of course he would run afoul of any gag order. Any court would essentially revoke his bond."
Mariotti continued:
"He's trying to find his ways around the rule, trying to anticipate that a court will not be able to craft rules that fit the specific circumstances of who and what he is. I think the court today did a masterful job of creating limits. Look, he can criticize [special counsel] Jack Smith, but when it comes to individual prosecutors ... when it comes to witnesses who have specific testimony that is going to be, you know, introduced against him at trial, he doesn't have the right to ... essentially sic a mob on those people."
"He is on trial for exactly what you just referred to," agreed anchor Ari Melber, himself an attorney. "The fact he could say and do things to cause people to commit crimes ... Jack Smith isn't pursuing a direct incitement case. He's looking at some of the other very clear plots to overthrow the election. What you're reminding everyone, that's what has already been adjudicated. The question is, will we get away of doing that to undermine this trial. The court found he can no longer and can theoretically be jailed for this kind of previous comment he made about [former Attorney General] Bill Barr."
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Melber then played an interview clip of Trump. "Bill Barr was a stiff, he wasn't there at the time, but he didn't do his job," said Trump in the clip. "He was afraid. He was afraid of being impeached. He was petrified to be impeached. How do you not get impeached? Don't do anything."
"That's meant to incite anger against Barr, rile up his followers against Barr," said Mariotti. "And I think that's exactly the sort of comment this opinion prohibits while at the same time carving out, I think, really important political speech that otherwise would potentially create issues in front of the Supreme Court."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Renato Mariotti on how Trump attacks witnesseswww.youtube.com
