Washington – Throughout his four years in the White House, former President Donald Trump frequently used social media to launch sharp attacks on his critics and political opponents.
However, as a former president, Most likely candidate For Republican presidential candidates to navigate 4 different criminal cases If Trump violates the terms of an agreement that allowed him to be released before his trial begins, he could be rewarded with online criticism. Restrictions imposed by magistrate judges in two federal cases and signed by a judge in a state case in Fulton County, Georgia, prohibit him from threatening people involved in the matter, including co-defendants, witnesses, jurors and court officials. I’m warning you.
“He’s doing himself a disservice by posting these messages,” Sarah Krisoff, a former federal prosecutor who now works as a defense attorney, told CBS News. “Not only is he risking violation of these court orders and fines and even prison time, he is also risking the outcome of these criminal proceedings.”
The former president faces 91 charges in four indictments filed since late March (two in state court and two in federal court). President Trump has denied any wrongdoing in each case, instead accusing federal and local prosecutors of launching a politically charged “witch hunt” aimed at derailing his 2024 presidential campaign.
President Trump recently directed his social media ire at Special Counsel Jack Smith, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan and Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis. Mr. Smith has filed two federal charges against Mr. Trump. The first case was Mr. Trump’s lawsuit. Handling confidential government records Recovering from Mar-a-Lago, a resort in South Florida.And the second time suspicious attempt President Trump maintained his innocence in order to block the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election, which was overseen by Chutkan in Washington, D.C. both Case.
Meanwhile, Willis spent 2 years of research President Trump on suspicion of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. huge extortion case to the former president, and 18 others last week. Trump has been indicted on 13 counts, but has not yet been charged.
President Trump’s pretrial release conditions in Washington, D.C., prohibit him from speaking to known witnesses about the facts of a federal case except through an attorney, and from obstructing or threatening a criminal investigation. It partially warns that it is a crime. “A witness, victim, juror, informant, or court official.”
But following the indictment and arraignment, President Trump criticized Chutkan on his social media site Truth Social, calling him “very biased and unfair” and Smith “crazy.” . He also continues to criticize Vice President Mike Pence for refusing the former president’s requests to unilaterally throw out state electors or delay certification of the 2020 election results.
Addressing the charges contained in the indictment, President Trump tweeted on August 5, “I am newly emboldened (and not based on a 2% poll number!) to tell Mr. Pence that he has put me above the Constitution.” “I never told him to prioritize or that Mike was ‘too honest.'” . “He’s paranoid and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy.”
In April, Pence testified during grand jury questioning as part of Special Counsel Smith’s investigation into events surrounding the 2020 election. indictment The former vice president revealed that he kept notes from his conversations with President Trump.
At least one of Mr. Trump’s posts since Aug. 4 caught the attention of federal prosecutors on Mr. Smith’s team.In the submission to Chutkan request a confidentiality order When administering discovery documents, Justice Department lawyers included an image with the message, “If you come after me, I’ll come after you!” The former president posted on Truth Social.
At the Aug. 11 hearing, Chutkan said Trump’s lawyers warned He said there were limits to what his client could say and reminded him of the conditions of his release while awaiting trial.
“My client’s defense should be in this courtroom, not on the internet,” she said. The judge said further “inflammatory” statements about the case would increase the urgency of bringing the case to trial to protect potential jurors.
“I will take all necessary steps to protect the integrity of these procedures,” Chutkan said.
Some lawyers believe that had Trump not been a former president and Republican presidential candidate, he would already have faced serious consequences for his online comments.
“If he were Donald Smith, he would be in prison right now,” said former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi. “The argument that we are treating him unfairly is unfair.”
Rossi said the repercussions Trump could face for his online comments include fines, contempt charges and loss of bail if he violates release conditions. The judge could also impose a gag order restricting the former president from speaking about the case in public if he continues to violate the rules regarding his release.
“Judges have broad discretion to issue orders that protect the integrity of the legal process and what happens in court when jurors receive reduced sentences and evidence is presented,” Rossi said. ” he said. “These priorities far outweigh any minimal impact on First Amendment rights.”
President Trump can publicly declare his innocence and denounce the charges against him as “felony,” but “he can’t bash the witnesses on the list. He doesn’t have the right to read the transcript. He doesn’t have that right.’ That’s not true,” Rossi said.
Still, Krisov said Trump’s lawyers face the difficult task of reining in his social media speech because “there’s a long history of people trying to silence him, and he can’t be silenced.” He said he was facing.
Indeed, the former president’s lawyers appear to be aware of the difficulty of limiting their client’s public criticism of his prosecution and those involved.
“In President Trump’s case, because of his campaign and because of his personality, it’s impossible for him not to speak out on this issue. So there are special circumstances,” said a lawyer representing Trump in the federal lawsuit. said John Lauro, who serves as a person. He spoke about the 2020 election on the Aug. 6 episode of his podcast, “For the Defense with David Oscar Markus.”
Lauro did not respond to requests for comment. In June, a Trump defense official said they were concerned about even basic protection orders being limited because “there was a concern that if President Trump wasn’t allowed to talk about the evidence, he would talk about it anyway.” Stated.
Concerns about the impact of President Trump’s comments on social media are growing. Texas woman arrested According to the criminal complaint, the suspect left a threatening voicemail for Chutkan on Aug. 5 that read, “You’re in our sights. We want to kill you.”
According to the filing, the woman called Chutkan, who is Black, a racial slur and said, “If Trump doesn’t win in 2024, we’re going to come and kill you, so act rashly.” He said he warned her.
“It’s not speculation that Judge Chutkan would conclude that a vitriolic social post by the president of the United States could infuriate his supporters who have drunk the Kool-Aid and believe it’s all a witch hunt and a deep state. No. She already has evidence, ‘This could lead to death threats against me, Judge Chutkan,”’ Rossi said. “Therefore, he has a show-cause hearing as to why she should revoke his bail, severely restrict it, or put him in contempt and impose even more severe liability on his attorney. You have to pay close attention to what’s not there.”
Restrictions imposed in his federal case in Washington generally prohibit threats against witnesses, victims or court officials, but the terms of the agreement between Mr. Trump’s lawyers and Mr. Willis of Fulton County include Special mention is made of media posts. As part of the The order negotiation for the agreed deposit has been completed. Earlier this week, the former president accused 18 of his co-defendants, witnesses, and alleged victims of “directly or indirectly” actions, including social media posts and sharing other people’s content online. He was prohibited from threatening or threatening anyone.
before the grand jury returns its verdict. 41 indictments On Aug. 14, the former president slammed former Georgia lieutenant governor Jeff Duncan, saying he “shouldn’t” have testified before the panel.
President Trump called Duncan a “loser” and said, “I hardly know him, but from the beginning of the witch hunt, he was a troubling scourge for those investigating election fraud in Georgia.” ” he wrote.
He called Willis “crooked, incompetent and highly partisan” in a post on Truth Social on Monday, and called Willis a “radical leftist, sleazy district attorney” in a message on the platform Thursday. . surrendered to authorities It was in Fulton County. Reserved Regarding 13 charges related to election cases.
Stephen Sadow, Trump’s lawyer in the Fulton County case, declined to comment when asked if he was concerned about possible judicial repercussions from Trump’s public statements and social media posts, telling CBS. “My work will be done in court,” he told the News in an email.
Defense attorney Krisoff said anything Trump says online could be used against him and harm the case.
“He’s trying to walk the line between challenging witnesses, challenging the case against him, challenging prosecutors, ostensibly trying to influence their actions. It’s not,” she said. “But some of the posts that have already been hit may indeed be inferred to be threats or witnesses to intimidation or sabotage. Over time, if those patterns exist, that inference becomes even more powerful.”
Mr Krisoff said there was a risk that new obstruction charges would be filed in connection with the recent actions.
“First Amendment rights are not unlimited. You cannot use your words to commit a crime or encourage others to commit a crime. There are many things you cannot say in public,” she said. . “Things get even more confusing in the middle of an election, but I think we might have a civics lesson here about what the boundaries of acceptable speech are. Because he really pushed the boundaries. Because I think it’s pushing the envelope.”
Graham Kates contributed to this article.