OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump may have a gag order imposed on him by the New York judge in charge of his case and there are penalties if he violates it. Among the penalties he could face if he violates the possible gag order that his legal team is said to be preparing for is 30 days behind bars, The Daily Mail reported.
“The Trump legal team now thinks that the Manhattan judge will take the unprecedented step of silencing the presidential frontrunner with an unconstitutional gag order tomorrow,” a source said.
“The Trump legal team is considering adding a First Amendment lawyer to the effort to combat this and will fight it all the way,” they said.
The Daily Mail reported:
Breaking the gag order could trigger a fine of $1000 and a prison sentence of as much as 30 days, under New York law. On Sunday morning, Trump’s campaign announced that the former president would make a speech at his Mar-a-Lago home on Tuesday evening after returning from New York. That could now be in doubt.
But it did not change his Sunday schedule. He headed to his West Palm Beach golf club where he could be seen playing the course accompanied by one of his lawyers, Lindsey Halligan. At the same time, it emerged that his legal team will lodge a motion to immediately dismiss the case against him.
Former President Donald Trump’s attorney has given an outline of what he anticipates the next steps will be in the indictment and arraignment of his client.
The attorney, Joe Tacopina, appeared on Fox News on Friday night and spoke to host Sean Hannity about the details.
“On Tuesday the president will be arraigned. We expect a mug shot. We expect the president will have his fingerprints. We expect what? Is he going to be perp walked? Is he going to be in handcuffs? Are they going to try and say he can’t have bail?” the host said.
“I don’t think anything dramatic like that is going to happen. Even if they tried to that would further solidify the notion he is being so selectively targeted and treated differently than anyone in the world. You can go smack a police officer in Times Square right now, knock him out, you’ll be out on bail. You’ll get bail, no problem. Are they going to ask bail on a misdemeanor case?” Tacopina said.
“Yeah, but they don’t have the last name Trump, Joe,” Hannity said.
“Of course not. Here’s the thing. We don’t really know what’s going to happen Tuesday because logistically this has never happened. We have the Secret Service involved in an arraignment. When have you seen that before? Never,” the attorney said.
“You have not worked out all those details yet as of this point?” the host said.
“They’re not worked out yet. We have some ideas but no, nothing is worked out yet,” the attorney said.
Of the possible mug shot Hannity said, “My gut instinct tells me that my friend, my colleague Pete Hegseth, who was on last night, he’s going to be proven correct. That photograph will end up on more T-shirts and more hats that say MAGA and Trump 2024.”
The Secret Service has already gotten in the way of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s plans.
This is the first time in history that a president or former president has been indicted and, as someone who is afforded Secret Service protection the protocol for such an arrest is, or was, unknown. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wanted the former president to be arraigned in his office on Friday but the Secret Service put the brakes on that and said it needed more time to prepare.
Fox News reported: “The source told Fox News Digital that Bragg had requested Trump’s surrender to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office by Friday — the day after the indictment — but that timeline was extended due to arrangements needed to be made by Secret Service. The source told Fox News Digital Trump will ‘most likely’ surrender on Tuesday. Typically, a defendant who surrenders in a nonviolent case would surrender to a central booking location, legal experts have explained. However, special accommodations are likely being arranged because this indictment involves a former president of the United States. The Secret Service and the New York Police Department are expected to play a large role in process next week.”
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday night that the state will not cooperate with any request to extradite Donald Trump after the former president was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury.
“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American,” DeSantis tweeted.
“The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent. Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” he added.
