Former prosecutor Andrew Weissmann Monday explained that former President Donald Trump could find himself facing sanctions that include jail if he repeats defamatory comments against writer E. Jean Carroll.
Weissmann's analysis arrived hours after the Republican frontrunner made potentially defamatory remarks about the former writer — who successfully sued him for $83.3 million in New York civil court — on CNBC Monday morning.
"Donald Trump is really running as an outlaw," Weissmann said. "John Gotti's defense was not that I didn't do it; it was basically, what's it to you?"
Weissmann argued Trump's comments could result in another defamation suit from Carroll, especially as her attorney Roberta Kaplan has stated publicly she continues to monitor the former president's public statements, or more payouts.
"We've seen this movie," Weissmann said. "We know how this ends because we saw the second trial and there's no reason to think that there would be any different."
The former prosecutor quipped it could be "a great annuity for both E. Jean Carroll and her law firm" if Trump defames Carroll on the campaign trail.
A judge can take a bigger step if Trump proves that he cannot, as Wallace put it, "be regulated by financial penalties."
Carroll and Kaplan can also ask for injunctive relief, which Weissmann explained would argue "money is not going to be sufficient to protect the victims here" and result in a protective order.
Then, if Trump violated that injunctive order, he could face consequences much more severe.
"I find it very tantalizing as a prospect," said Weissmann. "If the former president were to violate an injunction, all sorts of sanctions can come up at that point, including jail."
See the full explainer in the video below or at the link here.
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