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Disorder In The Court: Gag Order Edition

Moe Trump is at it again. How did the man who is lionized by evangelical Christians spend Easter Sunday? Attacking his enemies, that’s how:

That’s just a sample of the hateful bile spewed by the Indicted Impeached Insult Comedian on Easter. Instead of rolling away the stone, he threw rocks.

Once again, Trump went after Loren Marchan, the daughter of the judge trying the porn star hush money case. That, in turn, led to DA Alvin Bragg moving for an expansion of the gag order, which was granted.

Here are the money quotes from Judge Marchan’s latest attempt to rein in this disorderly defendant:

This pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose. It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings, that not only they, but their family members as well, are “fair game” for Defendant’s vitriol.

The average observer, must now, after hearing Defendant’s 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. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself.

I’m less concerned that Trump’s social media rants will incite immediate violence than the impact they will have on witnesses and potential jurors. Trump’s goal is to intimidate witnesses and pollute the jury pool in the same way he’s polluted our political system.

The response of Trump’s lawyers is boilerplate nonsense: Free speech; freedom, man.

I used to be a First Amendment absolutist a la Justices Black and Douglas. Nine years of exposure to Trump’s thuggish lies have given me a greater appreciation of the closing line of Justice Robert Jackson’s dissent to Douglas’ majority opinion in Terminiello v. Chicago:

Practical wisdom is in short supply in 2024. Sam the Sham Alito’s Dobbs opinion is proof of that. Judge Marchan’s gag order extension is an attempt to restore some practical wisdom to a courtroom disrupted by the anarchic antics of Team Trump. Disorder in the court is funny when done by Moe, Larry, and Curly but not in the real world.

Enough with the special treatment for Defendant Trump. It’s time for the judicial system to stop acting like Larrys and stand up to Moe Trump. He’s been eye poking the legal system: It needs to respond in kind by slapping this contemptible mook with contempt citations and threats of jail.

Nobody wants to make this entitled motherfucker a martyr but enough is finally enough. The courts must go Moe on the Indicted Impeached Insult Comedian. Judge Marchan’s extended gag order is a step in the right direction. Pushback is the only thing that works with bullies. No one is a bigger bully than Donald J. Trump.

The last word goes to The Three Stooges:

One thought on “Disorder In The Court: Gag Order Edition”

  1. It’s time to bring the hamm, uh, the gavel down and issue an order that he make no public statements about any parties to the proceedings, their families or other associates, or jail until trial. Pick one

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