The judge in Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal case on Monday declared his daughter off-limits to the former president’s rancor, expanding a gag order days after Trump assailed and made false claims about her on social media.

Judge Juan M. Merchan said his original gag order — barring Trump from making public statements about jurors, witnesses and others connected to the case — did not include Merchan’s family members, but his subsequent attacks warranted including them.

“This pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose,” Merchan wrote. “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.”

Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is a Democratic political consultant. Prosecutors had urged Merchan to clarify or expand his gag order after Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Loren Merchan “makes money by working to ‘Get Trump,’” and wrongly accused her of posting a social media photo showing him behind bars.

  • 44razorsedge@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Bullies gonna bully. There was a lot of chirping at a recent hockey game. A visiting forward who liked to run his mouth and had a tough guy rep was checked, hard, along the boards in front of our team. He was supposed to be a tough guy but he winced. Who knows why, but he showed weakness. Fast as lighting, the Coach said (loud enough for the bench but not the refs) “Why don’t you go cry home to Mommy.” For the rest of the game the guy stayed away and was nothing of a factor in the game .

    The point is when Trump was facing the half billion dollar fine (and supposedly the tough guy) he went ape-shit wincing, weaseling and whinging about it and NO-ONE called him on it. He’s out of control and no-one has the ability to stop his antics.

    So I guess, you get what you pay for; or vote for. And that’s not leadership on the part of the court, it’s appeasement.