Dem
51
GOP
49
Note that the headline refers to the Run-D.M.C. song with that title as opposed to the Joe Jones song or the George Thorogood song. The Run-D.M.C. tune includes the lyric "Your mouth is so big, one bite could kill a Big Mac." If that is not on point, we don't know what is.
Anyhow, we probably won't write about Donald Trump's fraud case every day because the news is going to be kind of weedy and repetitive. But there were two related bits of news yesterday worth passing along. The first is that Trump continues to behave as if angering Arthur Engoron, the judge who has sole power to decide the former president's fate, is a winning strategy. And so, the former president posted a message to his boutique social media platform in which he gave the name of Engoron's chief clerk, included a picture of her with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and decreed that married-for-43-years Schumer and the clerk (whose name we will not be repeating) are dating each other and that the clerk is carrying out Schumer's wishes.
Let us pause for a moment to note that, in addition to being stupid, this is also utterly reprehensible. First of all, it is not cool to publicly suggest, without evidence, that someone is cheating on their spouse. Second, Trump knows full well that some of his followers are mentally unwell, and can be spurred to violence. Now his supporters know what one of Trump's "enemies" looks like, and where this "enemy" works. It is not at all out of the realm of possibility that this poor clerk could be assaulted or killed. And note that many of Trump's social media posts are quickly made into e-mail blasts, as this one was. So, this information has been shared with far more people than just the cadre that actually looks at Truth Social.
In view of all this, Engoron was justifiably furious with Trump, and ordered him to remove the post immediately (which was done, whether by Trump or someone else). The Judge also advised: "Consider this statement a gag order forbidding all parties from posting, e-mailing or speaking publicly about any of my staff. Failure to abide by this order will result in serious sanctions."
Presumably Trump will find a way to evade that (limited) gag order. For example, he's still apparently allowed to post things about the judge himself. But we suspect he's going to push his luck too much, and get gagged even more aggressively. There's also a hearing on Oct. 16 where Special Counsel Jack Smith will ask Judge Tanya Chutkan to impose a gag order for that case. Since Trump struggles to control himself, it could well be that the first time he sees the inside of a jail cell is not after losing one of his (many) cases, but after being found in contempt of court for running his mouth. (Z)