Note - I am not a lawyer. Someone who is needs to weigh in also...
The other night I posted a reply to someone about Trump's $200,000 bail he will have in the GA case. I couldn't understand why he would even need bail since he is surrounded by federal agents at all times - he ain't going anywhere. Then I heard about the terms of the bail... Number 4(e) specifically worries me.
(4) The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice. Id. This shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
a. The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against any codefendant;
b. The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against any witness including, but not limited to, the individuals designated in the Indictment as an unindicated co-conspirators Individual 1 through Individual 30;
c. The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against any victim;
d. The Defendant shall make no direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community;
e. **The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media; **
The terms are wide open with the "but is not limited to". I think they are going to either frame him with social media posts, or just wait for a "mean tweet" and put him in jail. Worse yet - his team is asking for a 2026 trial date. If the judge suddenly and magically agrees and the DA also magically agrees then they are planning to put him away through the election.
Someone on his team needs to know this.
Here are his actual bail terms: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23921620/23sc188947-consent-order.pdf
1st amendment is absolute. He'll take the arrows on this. And the punishments. He will bait them regularly. He has to
Yep - that's what I think as well. Trump will not be silenced and any attempt to do so by the local DA, will prompt the case being removed and reassigned to Federal court.
Tons of crimes involve speech. Including making threats. You can get a misdemeanor felony depending on circumstance. In NY, there's a crime called Menacing that involves threats.
You obviously can't make death threats as some woman in Illinois just found out
You can also get hit with a civil lawsuit if you commit Libel or Slander.
It's very difficult if the person is a public figure in any form. Then, if they sue, they have to definitively prove actual malice.
True. Absolutely true.
But a separate issue. Defamation still involves speech.
Many other crimes involved speech.
That’s right. So each laws.
I knew absolute was a bit loose, but you get the gist.
They’ll take anything he says and spin it.
The fight here will be a speech issue . The Supreme Court should knock it down in the long run.
If they want a first amendment fight Trump should deliver one. He already won