Trump just made an 'attempt to intimidate jurors' on social media: CNN legal analyst
Donald Trump's repost of a Fox News host's hush money trial juror attack is pure juror intimidation, says CNN legal expert Jeffrey Toobin.
"It's clearly, I think an attempt to intimidate jurors," he said while he appeared on CNN's "Anderson 360" Wednesday night. "And it is clearly barred by by the gag order in this case."
The former president reposted on Truth Social a quote made by Fox News anchor Jesse Watters that reads: “They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury."
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That move may fly in the face of a gag order imposed by New York Judge Juan Merchan banning any public statements by defendant Trump aimed at witnesses, court staff, and prospective jurors along with family members of the judge and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Bragg has brought a 34-count criminal indictment for falsifying business records by attempting to buy the silence of both porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy playmate Karen McDougal in weeks leading up to the 2016 election.
Trump has denied the affairs and pleaded not guilty.
Toobin is convinced that Trump is living in a fabled existence, and has yet to grasp he on trial that could jeopardize his future freedom.
"Donald Trump doesn't seem to realize that he is now a criminal defendant and criminal defendants have different and lesser rights than ordinary citizens," he said. "They are not allowed to interfere in in the trial process, especially when there is a gag order that specifically address attempts to intimidate jurors."
"I mean, it is just not permissible and I think prosecutors who will have already asked to have him founded contempt for other violations where he's talked about witnesses. This in many respects is much more serious because judges take the jury and the integrity of the jury as almost sacrosanct and the idea that he's intimidating the jury is something that I think Judge Merchan is going to be very concerned about."
The simple parroting of Watters comment could actually force a scheduled April 23 contempt hearing that Bragg's prosecutors called for to cite previous gag order violations to to be moved up.