Closing arguments in New York’s civil fraud trial against Donald Trump took place on Thursday, and despite having been officially barred from personally delivering his defense’s closing statements, the former president launched into an unauthorized rant before the court and Judge Arthur Engoron.
Sources told Rolling Stone that Trump had been rehearsing what he thought would be a blistering, dramatic conclusion to the case that will determine the fate of his business empire.
…
Based on what the two sources relay to Rolling Stone this week, it appears Engoron’s assumption that Trump would use the forum to rave about his own grievances was right on the money. The former president’s private “rehearsing” of what he planned to say included haranguing the judge’s staff, railing against the New York attorney general as “racist” and soft on crime, claiming that the trial was an example of the Democratic Party and Biden administration supposedly trying to “rig” the 2024 election, and gratuitously boasting of the values of his sprawling business and real-estate empire, among other jabs and bluster.
In a jury trial, this could be a big deal. You have all this stuff that’s off limits that the jury isn’t supposed to hear because it’s prejudicial, inadmissible and irrelevant. Mistrial have happened for less.
But there is no jury, the one deciding everything is the one who would be enforcing those same rules anyway. If anything, it just shows how easy the judge has been on Trump and team throughout this process.
It doesn’t even really affect the media coverage because there’s no clip to show, and any outlets that give him positive press off this would parrot his public comments anyway. To everyone else it just makes him look like a joke, a sad thin skinned loser who is trying to get the last word in in an argument he’s already lost.
This just seems like a bad idea that his ego demanded against anyone’s better judgment. Though I suppose it wasn’t ever going to hurt his image among anyone that actually likes him, and anyone who is still on the fence won’t remember this in a week, let alone in November.
Can the judge wait until after the trial is over and then jail him for contempt, or does it have to be right after the action?
Actually, a bit of both.
There was an initial order that the judge issued that laid out how the trial was going to go. This order would have things that Trump was required to do, or things that he was prohibited from doing. (that part is rare in pre-trial orders) Anyway, the prosecutor can look at that order, and make a motion to hold Trump in contempt if Trump violated it.
That contempt charge would then be added onto the final order, the one that’s likely to completely dissolve the Trump organization. Jail time in such a contempt is usually issued as “suspended” meaning that it’s ordered, but if the person doesn’t fuck up for a period, and obeys the final order, then they don’t actually have to go to jail.
The other type of contempt is when Trump disregards the Judge while in the courtroom. And that one is a straight to jail type thing. The judge here might be brave enough to do it. Or mad enough.
After all, Trump’s followers have made bomb threats to this judge’s home. That makes people a tich mad.
So all Trump would need to do would be good and not act up?
He’s going to prison!
That’s very informative, thank you!
Excellent summation