Bermuda Post

Thursday, Jun 01, 2023

Donald Trump warned he is ‘walking a tightrope’ over judge attack

Donald Trump warned he is ‘walking a tightrope’ over judge attack

Donald Trump was warned on Wednesday that he was “walking a tightrope” after he launched a furious attack on the judge presiding over his historic criminal case in New York.
Just hours after pleading not guilty to 34 criminal charges relating to the alleged falsifying of business records, the former president took aim at judge Juan Merchan and New York district attorney Alvin Bragg in a typically bombastic speech to supporters from the ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Despite being warned by Judge Merchan not to make comments that would “incite violence” or “create civil unrest”, Mr Trump described him as a “Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family”.

Casting the prosecution as a politically-motivated campaign by Democrats to stop his return to the White House, Mr Trump went on to say that Mr Merchan’s daughter worked for Democrat vice-president Kamala Harris.

While some political commentators say the case, which centres on alleged hush money payments of $130,000 to the porn star Stormy Daniels, could bolster his chances of taking back the presidency, others questioned whether his attack on the judge could backfire.

Britain’s former US ambassador Lord Kim Darroch told Sky News: “Given what was said in the court room yesterday I thought he might at least back off on that. Maybe he just couldn’t help himself. But I think that’s quite dangerous.” He warned that it could influence Mr Trump’s punishment if found guilty.

The case is the first time a former American president has faced criminal charges. In a 25-minute speech, Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Bragg for bringing the criminal charges against him. He called it a “fake case” and declared himself the victim of election interference.

“I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” he said. “The only crime that I’ve committed has been to fearlessly defend our nation against those who seek to destroy it.”

Mr Trump also took fresh shots at other legal cases against him. These include US Justice Department investigations into his alleged handling of classified documents after he left the White House in early 2021 and a probe into his alleged role in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. The case in New York, while considered less serious than some of the other cases he faces, could still lead to a jail sentence for Mr Trump.

But a conviction would not prevent him from serving as president again. Some legal experts have questioned the strength of the case which alleges Mr Trump orchestrated payments to Ms Daniels before the 2016 election to suppress stories about a relationship. The case also features claims that a second woman, Playboy model Karen McDougal, and a Trump Tower doorman also received payments to suppress stories. Mr Bragg said the alleged hush-money scheme constituted “felony crimes in New York state — no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalise serious criminal conduct”.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
Close
0:00
0:00
America's Got Talent…
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
Drone Attack on Moscow's Wealthiest Neighborhoods Suspected to be Launched by Ukraine
Elon Musk Meets Chinese Finance Minister in Beijing
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store As They Broke ''Company Policy''
If you donated to BLM, you got played
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
WATCH THIS: democracy in Russia is so bad!
Ed Davey: It is possible for a woman to have a penis
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Steve Jobs introducing Apple's iPhone, exactly 16 years ago.
China overtakes Japan as world's top car exporter
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
Banking Behemoth vs Ex-Boss: The PMorgan-Epstein Entanglement
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines calls the British monarchy "an absurdity" he wants to remove in his lifetime
Remarkable video from our Fox drone team
The official tapes of Trump's deposition in the E. Jean Carroll battery (rape) and defamation case have been released.
Here is the full video that the media are purposely not sharing
King Charles III being crowned.
New York procedures cover up cold blooded first degree murder of black man by white man
Newly released video of Donald Trump’s rape trial deposition:
Video: Ukraine MP Punches Russian Representative At Global Meet
El Paso mayor has declared a state of emergency
Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones in an attempt to kill Putin
Ahead of King Charles’ coronation, British guards rehearse in the middle of the night in London
×