Donald Trump calls the politicians who make the pilgrimage to stand behind him in a New York City courtroom during his trial “surrogates,” and their rhetoric allows them to launch prohibited lines of personal attack. It’s expanding. order.
Trump’s coordination and organization with his supporters has raised questions about whether the Republican speakers’ comments violated Trump’s gag order, but legal experts say it would be difficult for prosecutors to argue there was a violation if Trump did not speak, and even if they were successful, it could lead to the outcome they are trying to avoid: sending Trump to prison.
President Trump’s gag order, which he has already violated 10 times and has been found in contempt of court, detains witnesses, prosecutors, jurors, court staff, and even their families and the families of the judges in charge of the case. It is forbidden to attack. State Judge Juan Melchian cited Trump’s violations and said prosecutors were not seeking his prison time, but warned that further failures could send him to prison. did.
President Trump failed to level his signature line of attack, attacking the gag order itself, Marchand, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, both of whom are justified in his anger over the gag order. .
Allies like businessman Vivek Ramaswami, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination last year, took aim at the prosecution’s star witness, Michael Cohen, who took the stand last week, accusing him of “systematically” lying. did. Mr. Marchan was initially excluded from the gag order, but it was later added, saying, “He has family members who have earned millions of dollars as Democratic Party operatives through fundraising and other activities based on this trial.” He mentioned Mr Machan’s daughter.
But Trump’s allies are not bound by the order, only Trump, said Ken White, a federal criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles.
“For it to be a violation, he has to be directing them to do these things,” White said. “It’s not enough to say, ‘I’m doing it because he can’t do it.'”
The Trump campaign insists the effort is uncoordinated. “All of our guests came to the courtroom voluntarily to support our friend President Trump and were not invited by the campaign,” a spokesperson said.
But prosecutors have largely held back, even as Trump’s attorneys have made fiery statements that echo many of Trump’s previous criticisms. Legal experts have warned that prosecutors risk suddenly finding themselves with Mr. Trump in prison, a situation they hope to avoid. On the other hand, there is also a risk of failure.
Mr. White said he would not be able to show Mr. Trump was responsible, even if, as one reporter argued on MSNBC, prosecutors somehow proved they edited the agents’ statements before they were distributed. Even if it were possible, he said, the results could be self-defeating.
“The prosecutor and the judge want it to be over,” White said. “They don’t want sideshows. They don’t want extreme chaos that would bring this issue up again and possibly even detain the former president.
“If that happens, this case will be seriously derailed,” he added.
Robert Hirshhorn, a lawyer and trial consultant, said of this development, “Even if Team Trump said, “Here’s what we want you to make,” they were smart enough not to let Trump say it. “So we isolated him.” I think if the country acts in violation of the gag order, it will lose.
“The only option that really remains for the judge is to impose some sort of prison sentence on Mr. Trump, even if it’s just an hour or two hours. And I don’t think the judge is going to do that,” Hirschhorn said.
Ohio Republican Rep. J.D. Vance, Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also joined Mr. Ramaswamy in criticizing Mr. Marchand’s daughter. In response to questions, Trump’s supporters said they accompanied them to court of their own free will, not at Trump’s direction. But they aren’t arriving in person, queuing, and entering through the general entrance. Several people have been seen or admitted to the courthouse with Mr. Trump and are part of the security “bubble” his Secret Service has set up around him.
Another group of allies also joined President Trump in court Monday. Among them was law professor Alan Dershowitz, who could be heard speaking animatedly in court during a break about the case with his former student and research advisor, Norm Eisen. Norm Eisen is a CNN contributor, legal analyst, and Obama Ethics Advisor in the White House. He served as special counsel on the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment. Steve Witkoff, a developer and longtime friend of Mr. Trump, former New York City Police Department Commissioner Bernard Kerik and Trump administration official Kash Patel were also seated directly behind Mr. Trump in Monday’s courtroom.
Dershowitz said he spotted Eisen in the gallery behind him. She said, ‘Let’s talk a little bit.’ And we had a really fun conversation,” Dershowitz told NBC News. “I asked him about his family and talked a little about the incident.”
Those who traveled with or sat in the seats with Trump also coordinated media remarks outside the courthouse building, where Trump himself frequently uttered words he was prohibited from saying.
Shift work for agents is drawing attention in court.
During the meeting between Mr. Marchand and his lawyers (known as a sidebar, which is transcribed for the record but not heard by the jury), prosecutors asked Mr. Trump’s representatives and their identities to be interrogated. He asked that no one be allowed to enter the courtroom. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, said Trump had no authority to control them.
“Your Honor, I have absolutely no control over what happens to people or things behind me when I’m crossing a witness,” Blanche said. “I have no control over it. I mean, they’re regular people.”
“Are you waiting for anyone else today?” Machan asked.
“Sir, I do not know,” replied Blanche. “I don’t expect much from other people. But I might be wrong.”
“They come from all over.”
The parade of surrogate mothers takes on the campaign’s luster in another way. In a new online video ad appealing for campaign donations, Mr. Ramaswamy is joined by Trump, including Florida Reps. Byron Donald and Cory Mills, as well as Republican co-chairs son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara Trump. He appears in court with the president’s family. National Committee. President Trump can be heard speaking to media cameras in the background.
“We’re in court with President Trump, and we need you to stand with him,” Donald said.
Some of Mr. Trump’s allies arrived in the motorcade but entered with the general public, including Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who was indicted along with Mr. Trump in a separate criminal trial in Georgia, and were seated in an overflow room. Some people were seen. They are charged with crimes related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor and congressman from South Carolina, entered the courtroom Monday along with reporters and members of the public.
Outside the courtroom, Trump also stepped up his defense of allies, praising them and noting the efforts of others in Washington.
“I have a lot of surrogate mothers, and they have very beautiful language,” Trump said, adding, “They come from all over the world.”
“They think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen,” he said. “They’re all furious.”
White said Trump is an unusual litigator because he seems focused almost entirely on what’s happening outside the courtroom. Inside the courtroom, he has been seen reading and annotating articles and polls.
“His strategy tends to be about public opinion and politics and fundraising and support bases, not about what’s going to be most advantageous for him in the courts and traditional legal strategy,” White said. said.
The day after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) requested records from the lead attorney in the case, saying he had been obsessed with prosecuting Trump for years. , Mr. Trump himself brought up this suspicion.
“This is all coming out of the White House and the Department of Justice. This is what it’s all about. In fact, the head of the Department of Justice is leading the trial,” Trump said in the hallway outside Marchand’s courtroom.
Hirshhorn said Trump used “workarounds” to get around the gag order by broadcasting presidential messages, allowing his agents to come forward, while adhering to the letter of the rule. , they say they are just daring the prosecution to pursue them.
“It’s clear what he’s doing. He’s trying to make it a political trial,” Hirshhorn said of President Trump, who is probably trying to get a sympathetic ear even in the room.
“There’s a chance there’s at least one person on the jury who identifies as a Republican, and if so, that’s a fair game for that juror,” he said.
White said, “You must be crazy to antagonize a judge in a criminal case. Most people wouldn’t do that. But he’s always trying to protect his public image, ego and We have focused on political narratives that undermine courtroom strategy.”
