In a new article on their website, the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) alleges that there is a “causal” link between rhetoric from former President Donald Trump and violent actions undertaken by dangerous figures out there in American life.
“Gag orders are critical tools to ensure the integrity of the system, and they are particularly important in this case, where we know that there is a causal relationship between Trump’s words and the violent actions of his supporters, who see them as inspiration or orders,” said the article from CREW. “But gag orders only work if they are enforced.”
They were speaking specifically in the context of a gag order on Trump in his New York City criminal case that accuses him of falsifying business records in connection with hush money from before the 2016 elections. Prosecutors are alleging that Trump already violated this order a series of times, peddling commentary — whether comments made in person or posts to social media — that invoked expected witnesses and the jury, both of which are protected by the judge’s directives.
During an earlier hearing on some of prosecutors’ allegations of Trump violating the order, presiding Judge Juan Merchan — known as a Justice in the state’s legal parlance — already derided a Trump lawyer’s contention that the former president/his team were actually working diligently to comply with the order, but the judge has yet to rule decisively on the dispute. Prosecutors were seeking financial penalties.
There is another hearing after additional violations alleged by prosecutors that’s coming up next week, and as this case marches on, detention remains a possibility for future findings of contempt. The possibility already came up — repeatedly, with a prosecutor suggesting Trump was basically seeking that. In theory, the ex-president could intentionally try derailing things to attempt using the aftermath politically.
