Legal experts gathered on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon after New York Judge Juan Merchan expanded his gag order to stop Donald Trump from attacking family members of jurors, witnesses and court officers.
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance called the move the most significant investment from a judge thus far in curbing Trump's behavior.
"If Trump was a toddler, and I think we all often have suggested he behaves like one, this would be the sort of progressive discipline you would use to try to contain a toddler's misbehavior," said Vance.
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She explained that the judge in the hush money criminal case initially put a gag order on Trump that covered only jurors, witnesses and court staff — not including the judge himself, the district attorney or family members.
But after several furious posts in which Trump attacked Merchan's daughter for being politically biased against him, the judge expanded it Monday night to include relatives.
It still doesn't ban Trump from commenting on the judge or the DA, and he responded Tuesday by calling Merchan a 'whack job."
"Now, as Trump has proven it necessary, the judge hasn't just expanded the gag order, but as Lisa [Rubin] mentioned, the judge was very specific in telling Trump what the consequences for violating it were," said Vance.
If Trump is found in criminal contempt of the New York court, it could mean jail time in addition to fines.
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'I know this is frustrating for viewers who think that Trump is getting better treatment than any other defendant, but this slow, measured series of progressive steps is important to show both the fairness of the process and ensuring that Trump has no legitimate appeal argument when this happens if it does happen," Vance explained.
"Many folks believe Trump won't be able to heed even this very serious warning."
In previous cases, Trump made similar moves attacking members of the court, requiring he be gagged from targeting staffers in the New York fraud trial. It came after Trump blasted the judge's clerk for taking a photo with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The comments from Trump led to death threats against the woman.
Merchan's case involves claims that Trump arranged for payments to be made to an adult movie actress to cover up an affair the two had before the 2016 election. The trial is scheduled to start on April 15.
See the comments in the video below or at the link here.
'If Trump was a toddler this is the kind of discipline you'd use': Expert on gag order www.youtube.com
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