Facing what the media is calling a “gag order” — but what Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office defines as a request for limited restrictions on comments by all parties, including Donald Trump, that would prevent them “from making materially prejudicial statements that threaten the integrity of this proceeding and a fair trial” — Donald Trump is brazenly daring Judge Tanya Chutkan to agree with the government’s argument that Trump’s threats go beyond his first amendment rights and therefore should be limited.
Trump’s social media activities leading up the the “gag order” hearing have included lashing out again at Chutkan herself as well as at Smith.
Previously, in a threat mentioned by the Special Counsel, Trump suggested Gen. Mark Milley — former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — had committed treason and should be “executed,” as the filing states.
The popular internet political pundit Angry Staffer asserts that Trump actually wants to receive the gag order — and he is lashing out to make sure it’s issued — because he sees it as a campaign profit engine.
(In addition, Trump has surrogates like Marjorie Taylor Greene, reportedly in attendance at the hearing, who will be happy to play Christian to Trump’s gagged Cyrano, so his messages will get pushed out even if he’s “gagged.”)
At this point, it seems like Trump is trying to get gagged so he can fundraise off of being gagged. https://t.co/rys08YqFFc
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) October 16, 2023
There is ample evidence that Trump may see a gag order in just the way Angry Staffer suspects. What would be bad news — indictments, arraignments, arrests — for other political actors have been good news from Trump, at least on the fundraising side.
As NBC reported in August: “Trump’s single largest online fundraising day of his campaign so far came on April 4, the same day that the former president was arraigned in Manhattan during that week, when he raised more than $3.9 million.” When Trump was later indicted on federal charges for his handling of classified documents, it triggered another spike in online fundraising.
And the former president and current GOP frontrunner received an enormous fundraising bump through merchandise sales of his “mug shot” from the jail in Fulton County, Georgia.
