Donald Trump repeatedly violated the gag order in his criminal trial just hours ahead of a contempt of court hearing, and a legal expert called on the judge to put him in "time out."
The former president attacked New York judge Juan Merchan, who is not covered under the order, during a Monday night radio appearance on Real America's Voice and then moved on to attacking the jury, which is covered under the order, reported The Daily Beast.
“That jury was picked so fast — 95 percent Democrats, the area is mostly all Democrats," Trump said, but offered no proof. "You think of it as just a purely Democrat area. It’s a very unfair situation, that I can tell you.”
Former federal prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann told The Daily Beast that Trump was "clearly goading" Merchan, and he said the judge must crack down hard on him to protect the trial.
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“The fact that he’s doing something that appears by all accounts to be a direct violation of the order as late as tonight in advance of a 9:30 hearing on violations with respect to witnesses and a violation with respect to jurors — both…are things that a judge is going to care tremendously about,” Weissmann said.
The judge could impose a nominal fine or wait for a more egregious violation before escalating his punishment, but Weissmann said that might only embolden Trump to undermine the trial's integrity.
"He can really do — like a child — give him a time out," Weissmann said. "He can step back and be kept in the pens in the courthouse. I think this is clearly like a child testing what will happen, and it’s at the very outset of the case. If there isn’t a firm hand right now and the rule of law isn’t imposed, it really is a terrible message in terms of how the trial is going to go forward because he’s going to continue doing this."
Weissman expressed concern that Trump could attack individual jurors, which could put their personal safety at risk and threaten the trial.
"If he’s going to seek a mistrial by his antics, that’s something he could try," Weissmann said. "So the court — who is extremely experienced — is going to have to be really careful about what exactly is the sanction he’s going to impose tomorrow.”