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The NY judge overseeing #Trump’s upcoming #criminal trial expanded an existing #GagOrder on Mon to bar him from attacking the judge’s family members, who in recent days have become the #target of Trump’s #abuse.

Justice Juan #Merchan last wk issued an order prohibiting Trump from attacking #witnesses, #prosecutors, #jurors & #court staff, as well as their relatives. That order, however, did not cover Justice Merchan himself or the Manhattan DA, #AlvinBragg, who brought the criminal case.

In the expanded order, Justice #Merchan recognized #Trump's "constitutional right to speak to the American voters freely, & to defend himself publicly," & clarified that the initial #GagOrder did not include members of his or #AlvinBragg's family, but wrote Trump’s attacks on family members serve no purpose but to inject fear.

#Merchan points out that courts are typically concerned about #1A defendants’ rights, but that the “conventional 'David vs. Goliath' roles" are inverted here, & #Trump's statements pose a very real #threat to the judicial proceedings’ integrity.

#Merchan: “It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a #threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings. The threat is very real. Admonitions are not enough, nor is reliance on self-restraint. The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant's [#Trump] recent #attacks, draw the conclusion that if they become involved in these proceedings, even tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well.”

#Merchan: “Such concerns will undoubtedly #interfere w/the fair administration of #justice & constitutes a direct attack on the #RuleOfLaw itself. Again, all citizens, called upon to participate in these proceedings, whether as a #juror, a #witness, or in some other capacity, must now concern themselves not only w/their own personal #safety, but w/the safety & the potential for personal attacks upon their loved ones. That reality cannot be overstated.”

#Merchan tears apart #Trump’s arguments against #AlvinBragg’s request for the expanded #GagOrder:

“Defendant, in his opposition of April 1, 2024, desperately attempts to justify & explain away his #dangerous rhetoric by ‘turning the tables’ & blaming those he attacks [typical of Trump to #BlameTheVictim]. The arguments counsel makes are at best strained & at worst baseless misrepresentations which are uncorroborated & rely upon innuendo & exaggeration.

#Merchan cont: “Put mildly, the assortment of allegations presented as ‘facts’ & cobbled together, result in accusations that are disingenuous & not rational. To argue that the most recent attacks, which included photographs, were ‘necessary & appropriate in the current environment,’ is farcical.”

#Trump filed a pre-motion letter for #recusal of Justice #Merchan.

Trump claims Merchan’s daughter stands to benefit financially from the case, saying it will be “fodder for fundraising.”

The letter states, “Your Honor has an interest in this case that warrants recusal…; there is an unacceptable risk that the Court's family relationships will influence judicial conduct…”
—that argument was already deemed speculative after a prior recusal motion.

DA #AlvinBragg's office immediately responded tearing into #Trump's filing asking for Justice #Merchan's recusal, calling it a "daisy chain of innuendos" about the judge's daughter.

As said above, NY's #JudicialEthics board rejected the arg of a conflict last yr, “A relative's independent political activities do not provide a reasonable basis to question the judge's impartiality," the cmte found.

#law
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24529464-040224-peoples-opp-recusal-argument

DA #AlvinBragg prosecutors write, “There is simply nothing new here that would alter this Court's prior conclusion that nothing about this proceeding will directly benefit Authentic* or this Court's family member, let alone this Court.” (*#Merchan’s daughter’s co)

#Trump attys [again! ) claim Justice #Merchan made inappropriate "extrajudicial" stmnts in his AP interview (link earlier in ).

The DA points to the remark at issue noting it’s not even clear that it’s about Trump, “Even if the Court did have this case in mind, expressing a broad commitment to impartiality is very obviously not a prohibited 'comment about a pending or impending proceeding,'...& is not a basis for recusal."

@benroyce @Nonilex

The "gotcha" game here is testing for the edge of the rule of law with a pointed stick.

Jailing Trump is the appropriate remedy; he knows this, and has chosen to dare every judge he has encountered so far to do just that.

Quintessential and serial contempt of court.

@rexi @benroyce @Nonilex

I don't think we can imagine the fine lines these court cases walk in order to not get the whole thing thrown out. Judges need to be very careful. I vote for locking the douche up even overnight, but again, these are unprecedented moments.