Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann took his time on MSNBC Wednesday to lay into former President
Donald Trump for his mounting personal attacks on the family of Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Trump's
New York hush money trial — including unsubstantiated allegations about his daughter . "Andrew, I cease to be able to be surprised, except that Donald Trump is now literally making up a story about Judge Merchan's daughter, posting about it, railing about it, naming her by name," said anchor Joy Reid. "And there's still nothing anyone can do to stop it?" "It actually is something that could be stopped," said Weissmann. "There could be the gag order could apply to both the judge and the judge's family. And this is one where as a matter of grace, the judges have not imposed the gag order as to themselves. It reminds me when Amy Berman Jackson — Roger Stone had posted a picture with crosshairs next to her , and she said, you couldn't find another photo that didn't have that there? And judges, I think, bend over backwards, but it will be interesting to see whether Judge Merchan does expand it." ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different "But I would just like to step back to, it is true that you see this and you think, it's just Donald Trump. It's just Donald Trump. More of the same," Weissmann continued. "It is really important not to just normalize this. I mean, so many people talk about sort of predicting what would a Trump 2.0 administration be, and should we really think he's going to be a dictator and what will happen. And my response to that is, you can look right now at what he's doing and saying, and for people who are fair-minded, I would say, what do you say about somebody who attacks the daughter of a judge?" "That's right," said Reid. "I mean, is there no depth to which he will not descend?" Weissmann added. "It's so important to not get inured to what this is." "Yeah, and I mean the bottom line is the reason he's attacking Judge Merchan and his family is the same reason he attacks [special counsel] Jack Smith," said Reid. "They won't stop prosecuting him and he can't delay the trials anymore. He's found a way to even the delay the Georgia trial. They literally went after Fani Willis' relationship, that had nothing to do with the case. That did delay it. This is the one case he can't stop. He knows it's coming and therefore he's trying to personally destroy this man's family." Watch the video below or at the link. Andrew Weissman slams Trump for attacking judge's daughter www.youtube.com Donald Trump's campaign is in chaos, and his niece says she's energized. Mary Trump , the niece of the former president and a psychologist by trade, has previously been critical of her uncle. On Thursday, she said her uncle's failures are adding up. ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different "As the RNC’s fundraising falters and Donald’s campaign spirals into chaos, I am energized!" she said in a Substack post. She then continued: "When Donald dominates the news cycle, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. Every bad headline has a negative impact. But then I remember something crucial: There’s usually more to the story than meets the eye. I’m determined to cut through the media noise and share with you all the good that happened this week. These are the headlines we need to remain energized and hopeful that the media largely ignored." Mary Trump goes on to highlight President Joe Biden's recent fundraising hauls. "President Biden’s $155 million+ war chest has just received another turbo boost, bringing the total of cash on hand to at least $180 million. (By comparison , between his campaign and the RNC, Donald barely has over $50 million — and continues to drain the accounts to cover his absolutely staggering legal expenses )," she wrote. "This is a development that could significantly increase Biden’s ability to influence the narrative in crucial swing states." This, she says, also tells us a lot about voter excitement for Biden. "While critics have expressed doubts about the degree to which the
Democratic base is fired up as compared to 2020, today’s $25 million fundraiser, raised with donations ranging from $250 to $500,000, should put any doubts to rest — yes, we are absolutely behind President Biden and Vice President Harris and we’re in this fight until the end," she wrote. Read the full post here. CONTINUE READING Show less Unexplained filings are piling up in Judge Aileen Cannon's courtroom — and no one seems to know exactly what's going on. The strange "secret docket" measures, relating to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, were flagged on Thursday by Lawfare's Roger Parloff. "Undocketed filings in US v Trump (M-a-L) are stacking up. Yesterday the govt sought permission to file a surreply relating to a reply that isn't docketed yet, which related to a response that isn't docketed yet, which related to a motion that isn't docketed yet," wrote Parloff. ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different This situation was first flagged earlier this year — and Parloff suspects the issue is that Cannon simply doesn't understand how the judicial filing system works. "On 2/6, departing from Local Rules, she forbade parties from filing sealed or redacted docs without 1st getting her permission. That evolved into attys emailing undocketed docs to each other & the judge while waiting for Cannon to make redaction decisions. So here we are," he wrote. "Why'd she do that? I think because she had a mistaken view that anything filed with the court becomes presumptively public. I discuss that mistaken view." Cannon, a judge appointed by former President Donald Trump himself, has come under
fire for a series of strange decisions that appear calculated to benefit the former president in ways normal criminal defendants don't enjoy. For example, she previously tried to order classified documents the
FBI was investigating for national security purposes after their seizure from Mar-a-Lago turned over to a special master to review if they were privileged. She is also trying to order witness information handed over to Trump, even as special counsel Jack Smith has warned it could lead to witness tampering. CONTINUE READING Show less Whatever the motives, Donald Trump targeting the hush money criminal case judge and his marketing exec daughter, proves he's "worried," according to one expert. Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson told Salon that insulting Judge Juan Merchan a little over two weeks before his hush-money trial is set to begin is neither "wise" nor a "good move" and "just a recipe for sort of getting in the worst position possible during the trial." But most significantly it's a vulnerable tell. ALSO READ: A neuroscientist reveals how Trump and Biden's cognitive impairments are different "To me it shows that he's worried," she intimated. "What he's trying to do is cushion himself if he does get convicted by saying, 'I never had a fair shot because [of] the judge and the judge's daughter,' so it does make him look like he's running a bit scared." Why would Trump feel the need to go after Merchan and his daughter, Loren Merchan? Insecurity. "You don't have to attack a judge if you're confident in your case," Levenson told the outlet. The gag order hasn't slowed Trump's dismay. "Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately," former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social . "His Daughter, Loren, is a Rabid Trump Hater, who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me, and yet he gagged me." The griping comes after the judge granted the district attorney's request for a narrow gag order. Merchan announced April 15 to start trial in the case where the 45th president, 77, is defending himself against a 34-count indictment brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year accusing him of falsifying business records in order to prevent "damaging information and unlawful activity" involving payments made to porn star
Stormy Daniels (whom he engaged in an alleged affair) from being aired from
American voters weeks before the 2016
election. David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University, told Salon that Merchan may let Trump pipe off on him or his daughter because it preemptively "takes away another one of Trump's grounds for appeal" should he accuse the judge of exhibiting bias against him and silencing his First Amendment rights. "I think he's going to let him, at this point, say whatever he wants about him and his daughter," he said, but noted he could expand the gag order if the rhetoric becomes incendiary. Otherwise, Schultz said, "I think he's going to potentially let Trump hang himself." CONTINUE READING Show less