Donald Trump’s lawyers on Friday filed a response to prosecutors’ Thursday filing, arguing that any threats the former president could have triggered against Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron or his court staff are “irrelevant” to the need for a gag order in the case Trump faces in Washington, D.C.
The defense here being “I’m not threatening the judge or staff in this court, but only in the other court so it shouldn’t be considered in whether I’m being a danger to people.” It’s completely insane, but so far the US courts are playing with kid gloves because… not entirely sure, but it doesn’t reflect well on them to let such dangerous behavior continue. It’d kind of their job in our society to deal with that sort of thing.
I’m trying to figure out if they’re being so lenient because of complicency, or if it’s an abundance of caution to make sure he can’t argue for a mistral because of something.
Or if it’s just plain incompetence.
The least worst reason is that they’re doing it to ensure everything in the process is 100% air tight. The prosecutors, judges, and staff all know that they’re dealing with a defendant who will have enough money to appeal for the rest of their lives. He will have a never ending stream of lawsuits and cases at all levels of the judiciary. Everything has to be done perfectly because all it will take is one bought/rightwing judge to undermine justice. It will also end up being attacked by the House Republicans until the end of time. I cannot even begin to know how high the stakes are for everyone in these courts.
That said, Judge Cannon is a poster child for how anti-American a judge can be. She’s doing anything and everything she can to help the defendant undermine cases beyond the one in front of her and to give him cover for his campaign. She’s acting in the interests of the ongoing coup attempt, and I assume she’s not alone in the judiciary. We’re on a knife’s edge as a nation.