Trump ordered to appear via video at upcoming Manhattan hearing to get ‘schooled’ by judge
(Donald Trump, Image credit: Twitter)
Former President Donald Trump may very well be his own worst enemy when it comes to him threatening, bad mouthing, insulting, and illegally defaming his victims, opponents, witnesses, and legal adversaries in the myriad of criminal and civil trials litigated against him in the courts. And lawyers and judges familiar with Trump’s antics and rantings are aware of the ex-president’s loose lips and toxic vernacular. That’s why, on May 11, Trump was ordered to appear via video at his upcoming May 23 hearing in the New York City criminal case after the judge overseeing that “set rules barring him from using evidence in the case to attack witnesses.”
And you can’t read a newspaper this week without seeing headlines saying that Trump is about to get “schooled,” headlines like:
- Trump to get schooled on rules after district attorney worries he’ll use evidence to slam witnesses ~ The Washington Post
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan scheduled and will be overseeing the upcoming hearing where Trump will appear on a TV screen, while his lawyers and the prosecuting attorneys will physically appear live in the Manhattan courtroom. The judge and both sides of the legal teams will “go over the restrictions with Trump and to make clear that he risks being held in contempt if he violates them.”
Judge Merchan will be outlining and instructing Trump as to the rules of behavior he is expected to adhere to – while Trump appears in court via video. The judge agreed to allowing Trump to appear on video due to security concerns cited by the defense team.
Trump’s April 4 arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, attracted a crush of media and protesters, involved multiple street closures, extra security screenings and shut down non-Trump court business for an afternoon. ~ The Washington Post
The judge agreed to the prosecution’s request for hearing after successfully arguing that the former president “has a history of making harassing, embarrassing, and threatening statements” about people he’s tangled with in legal disputes.”
It was Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, who is responsible for the viral threads to “school Trump,” when he said on Friday that Judge Merchan should take the opportunity at the May 23 hearing to school the defendant. Kirschner also said that the instructions from Trump’s hearing would most likely be used as evidence against Trump when the former president gets charged with contempt for when, not if, he violates Merchan’s protective order.
“When Donald Trump violates the protective order, Judge Merchan will have everything he needs to hold him in contempt,” he [Kirschner] continued. “It is really important that Judge Merchan do everything necessary to set Donald Trump up to be held in contempt when he violates the protective order.” ~ MSN
Judge Merchan issued the protective order levied against Trump to bar the former president from sharing evidence and slandering / defaming his legal opponents, and further orders that neither Trump nor his legal team may share evidence with any other [third] parties or post that evidence on any social media platforms. The protective order also requires that, “… certain, sensitive material shared by prosecutors be kept only by Trump’s lawyers, not Trump himself. Trump can review that material with his lawyers, but can’t copy or photograph it.”
For more on the judge presiding over Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan, and more on the specifics of the protective order issued against the former president, see the video accompanying this article.
(Cover photo of Donald Trump in court, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
