DC Distrct Court Judge Tanya Chutkan has clearly run out of patience with Donald Trump's now bog standard social media threats and attacks on the legal system, and she's warning Trump of consequences if he continues.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan warned Donald Trump and his attorney Friday that repeated “inflammatory” statements about his latest criminal prosecution would force her to speed his trial on charges related to his bid to subvert the 2020 election.
“I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case,” Chutkan told Trump lawyer John Lauro during a hearing. “I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings.”
Chutkan’s stark admonition came at the conclusion of her first courtroom session in the newest criminal case against the former president. The aim of the hearing was for special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys to hash out disputes about the handling of evidence in the case. Once Chutkan enters a so-called “protective order” governing evidence, prosecutors say they’re prepared to share millions of pages of documents with Trump’s team, jumpstarting the case and setting it on a path to trial.
But Chutkan, aware of the national spotlight on her oversight of the explosive case, repeatedly emphasized that she intended to keep politics out of the courtroom and treat Trump like any other criminal defendant. That included potential consequences if he makes statements that could be construed as harassing or threatening witnesses.
“The fact that he’s running a political campaign has to yield to the orderly administration of justice,” Chutkan said. “If that means he can’t say exactly what he wants to say about witnesses in this case, that’s how it has to be.”
“Even arguably ambiguous statements from parties or their counsel, if they can be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors, can threaten the process,” Chutkan added later. “The more a party makes inflammatory statements about this case which could taint the jury pool … the greater the urgency will be that we proceed to trial quickly.”
Ahh, but Trump isn't the only person to experience the Finding Out phase of messing with federal judges today.
Sam Bankman-Fried is heading to jail after a U.S judge on Friday revoked his bail, finding probable cause that the indicted founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange tampered with witnesses at least twice.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan's decision to jail the 31-year-old former billionaire ahead of his Oct. 2 fraud trial over FTX's November 2022 collapse came after prosecutors said he had "crossed a line" by sharing private writings by former romantic partner Caroline Ellison with a New York Times reporter.
"He has already - without violating any other bail condition save that he not commit another crime - gone up to the line over and over again," Kaplan, who is known for his no-nonsense demeanor in the courtroom, said in a hearing in Manhattan federal court.
The judge rejected a defense request to delay Bankman-Fried's detention pending appeal of the decision.
The decision could complicate Bankman-Fried's efforts to prepare for trial. He faces charges of having stolen billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his Alameda Research hedge fund, where Ellison was chief executive officer.
She has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify against him at his Oct. 2 trial.
Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty, sat with his shoulders hunched, leaning forward on the table and fidgeting with a Post-It note as the judge order him detained.
He had a blank expression as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs by members of the U.S. Marshals Service after removing his shoelaces, watch, jacket and tie and emptying his pockets.
Obscenely rich and powerful criminals held to account for their actions before a trial even starts is music to my ears.
Long overdue StupidiTag™: Behold The Finding Out Phase!
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