Former President Trump’s social media attacks on federal officials could land him in serious trouble, legal experts warned today.
“Attempting to intimidate prosecutors or incite violence could land the former president on additional charges,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston.
Trump has called federal prosecutor Alvin Bragg a “Soros-endorsed animal” and encouraged his supporters to “protest” his arrest. In another post, he referred to the Manhattan district attorney’s office as “corrupt and highly political” before wrongly predicting his arrest for last Tuesday.
“The judge can enter a gag order to suppress your comments on the case and prohibit threats,” said former federal prosecutor Barb McQuade. “And if he violates the order, he could be jailed for contempt.”
In a since-deleted post, Trump shared a photo of himself holding a baseball bat alongside a photo of Bragg’s head.
His attorney, Joe Tacopina, called his attacks “misguided” and distanced himself from his client, saying he was not his “social media consultant.”
“I’m not going to defend or condemn anything related to social media,” Tacopina told NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday. “That’s not what I do. I am not a Trump PR person. I am a litigator and a lawyer.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg received a threat letter containing suspicious white powder shortly after Trump warned there would be “death and destruction” if he was indicted.
The powder was determined not to be dangerous, but various threats against the prosecutor’s office have increased in recent weeks as it nears the end of its investigation into Trump, a senior New York law enforcement official told WNBC. York.
As Trump’s attacks worsen, some experts have compared his violent rhetoric surrounding his possible impeachment to his rhetoric before the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill.
“All it takes is a LITTLE spark for civil unrest to ignite,” Rottinghaus said. “Trump has kept these organizations closely associated with his political ambitions. By giving people a voice and focus in these organizations, the potential for violence is rapid.”
At the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign in Waco, Texas, last Saturday, Trump defended the insurgents and criticized prosecutors. “The thugs and criminals who are corrupting our justice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced.”
A group of more than 175 former federal prosecutors, including civil rights leaders the Rev. Al Sharpton, former New York Gov. David Paterson, and Rep. Adriano Espaillat, DN.Y., released an open letter Friday condemning Trump’s attacks. against Bragg.
“This shameful attack is not a whistle, but a racist bile megaphone […] thrown for the sole purpose of intimidating and sabotaging a legitimate, fact-based, legal investigation,” they said. “These attacks on our judicial system must be universally condemned without equivocation or hesitation. It is clear that Trump would burn the most important values of our democracy and destroy honest and ethical officials who fulfill their constitutional duties, to escape responsibility.”
