Donald Trump is at risk of being jailed if he continues to launch “incendiary” attacks on social media, according to former White House President Ty Cobb.
The former president has come under fire for his online rhetoric and public statements, and has been given orders by judges overseeing his civil fraud trial in New York and the federal case over his alleged criminal attempt to overturn the effects of the 2020 election. of silence.
Recently, Trump shared a Truth Social user’s post discussing a “fantastic” situation in which Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who are involved in the $250 million civil fraud lawsuit in New York, are placed under citizen’s arrest for “egregious election interference and harassment. “
Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has denied any wrongdoing similar to the civil fraud lawsuit and accused the case of being a politically motivated “witch hunt” aimed at hindering his victory in the upcoming election.
Engoron, who is overseeing the civil fraud trial initiated through James’ trial, has already fined Trump twice for violating a gag order preventing him from attacking court staff during the process. Trump is free to attack the sentence and the charges against him. under the order.
Reacting to the citizen-arrest station, Ty Cobb, a former White House official during the Trump administration, told CNN that those are “types of arson attacks that lead to violence” for which Trump could be punished.
“He, in particular, asked other people to make a citizen’s arrest. Detaining James or Engoron would be a crime if committed through an individual motivated by the president’s comments. That’s pretty much what he did on January 6, he’s still at large. “I’m concerned about the extent to which his invective infects those proceedings and his potential to intimidate witnesses,” Cobb said.
“Comments like this will only result in sanctions against Trump, which will likely be the first item on the agenda, but at some point those kinds of comments will result in his imprisonment pending some of those trials. “
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s legal team for comment.
On Oct. 20, Engoron fined Trump $5,000 for violating the gag order by failing to remove from his site a Truth Social post attacking Allison Greenfield, Engoron’s longtime attorney, more than two weeks after the ruling ordered its removal. Engoron then warned that any further transgression could result in “much more severe” penalties against the former president, adding “possibly his imprisonment. “
Trump later fined him another $10,000 after describing Greenfield as “very partisan” to reporters outside the New York courtroom. “Don’t do this again or it will be worse,” Trump warned on October 25.
It remains to be determined whether the trial will take the unprecedented step of jailing a former president who has lately run another campaign for the White House.
Barbara McQuade, former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Michigan, said Trump’s sharing of the citizen’s arrest position was “incredibly reckless” and could have real-world consequences.
“Someone could just take violent action in response,” McQuade told Newsweek.
McQuade added that this message could prompt Engoron to increase the silence imposed on the former president.
Engoron has already extended his silence to go to the former president’s lawyer to avoid talk of “confidential communications” between the judge and his collaborators in the civil trial.
Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg has reported that Trump will face primary punishment if he violates Engoron’s gag order, unless it is extended.
“Trump continues his barrage of attacks on judges and lawyers, but the gag order in New York doesn’t go beyond court staff, so I don’t expect any punishment for that until that changes,” Aronberg told Newsweek.
“If the defendant did that, they would face genuine penalties. As a former president running for the White House again, Trump has earned greater deference for his incendiary comments. “
Ewan Palmer is a journalist for Newsweek News in London, UK. It focuses on U. S. politics, domestic politics, and the courts. He joined Newsweek in February 2018 after spending several years working at the International Business Times UK, where he mainly reported on crime, politics and current affairs. Prior to that, he worked as a freelance editor after graduating from the University of Sunderland in 2010. Languages: English.
You can reach Ewan by emailing e. palmer@newsweek. com.