'Provable link': Analyst explains why 'evidence' proves court 'ought to affirm' Trump gag order

As former President Donald Trump's attorneys representing him in his New York civil fraud trial argue in a new filing the MAGA hopeful's gag order should remain on hold, legal analyst and law professor Barbara McQuade suggested there's "evidence" the gag order should be reinstated.

The ex-president continues to attack Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk, Allison Greenfield, on social media platforms, which has led to both receiving "death threats" in recent days.

"It seems to me that there is something awfully close to proof in the filing in the New York case with these specific threats to the New York judge," MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said to McQuade. "But more specifically to the judge's clerk. It is impossible for Donald Trump followers to know who the clerk is were it not for Donald Trump's public attacks on the clerk. That's how they know the clerk exists. That's how they know her name. That's how they know things about her, that make them attack her directly. It seems there is a provable link between Donald Trump's public attacks on the clerk and then his supporters threatening the life of the clerk."

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The former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan replied, "Yes, and I think that is exactly the reason that [US Department of Justice special counsel] Jack Smith took that letter that was initially filed in the New York court and shared it with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that's considering the Judge [Tanya] Chutkan gag order. Because, remember in the oral argument a week ago, there was some dispute about what it means to target somebody. Well, you know what it means to target somebody? It means going after a clerk by name we that members of the public who previously had no idea who this person was, are now harassing and threatening that person. That's what it means to target someone."

McQuade continued, "And so they're using this as evidence. They also talked about the fact that harm it might be speculative at this stage, and maybe we ought to wait and see if something actually happens. And so, Jack Smith again says, 'Look, it's happening. This is the evidence. Do we need to wait any longer for any of this? Here it is. It's happening.' So, I think that by giving the court that kind of substantive evidence, that this is not a speculative harm. This is what it means to target someone. That this court of appeals ought to affirm the gag order that Judge Chutkan has imposed before we see the kinds of things that are going on in New York happen in the DC case as well."

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