Donald Trump’s legal battles are the source of a great deal of current discourse. The former president is the first to ever be indicted on a criminal charge, and Trump has accumulated more than 90 felony charges to his name over four different cases in different jurisdictions.
A “Witch Hunt”
Republicans have called the criminal charges against Donald Trump a “witch hunt,” using the language that the former president has assigned to his problems. Many of them believe that the excess number of charges is a sign of the Democrats trying to find anything to stick to the former president, rather than a significant indicator of wrongdoing.
Trump has pushed this narrative with his rhetoric during rallies and his posts on social media. He has repeatedly called for the cases against him to be thrown out due to “political persecution,” and has attacked the various lawyers and public servants involved in the cases in an attempt to deflect attention off of himself.
Soliciting Donations
This use of charged rhetoric has allowed Trump to rile up his base and create a wave of supporters who are both willing to overlook his potential wrongdoing and donate to the cause. Trump has used a significant portion of donations to fund multiple super PACs, which have been funneled towards his legal bills.
Filings with the IRS reveal that Trump spent more than $50 million on legal fees alone in 2023, and that number is only expected to grow in 2024. Trump is not only paying for his own legal fees, but for those of his children and allies as well, all of whom have been facing their own legal problems in the wake of Trump’s presidency.
Rulings in Civil Cases
Recent rulings in civil cases against Trump have only increased the amount of money that Trump owes. Two different defamation cases brought against the former president resulted in a judgment of more than $80 million that the former president owes, which he posted a bond for in January of this year, pending appeal.
Even more, though, Trump was ordered to pay more than $450 million, including interest, to the state of New York in his civil fraud trial. The case determined that Trump and his allies, via the Trump Organization, defrauded the state of New York multiple times over years of business, and that he was required to pay significant damages.
Damages Mitigated
The damages in the New York fraud trial were recently mitigated with a judge siding with Trump in an appeal. Trump’s damages were reduced from the original $450 million to just under $180 million, which is still a significant sum of money but one that Trump could reasonably pay without having to forfeit any of Trump Organization’s properties.
To Trump’s followers, this has confirmed that Trump is, indeed, being unfairly targeted by the state. Having some of his judgment removed is only more evidence that Trump is innocent, and that the officials who are charging him with crimes are corrupt in some way.
Cases Going Back Years
Trump’s actions and words have pushed this belief. Since his judgment was reduced, Trump has gone out of his way to continue to call the proceedings “corrupt” and a “witch hunt” in spite of his significant win. His other charges have met with similar attitudes, including those that have been investigated for many years, beyond merely his presidency and his current campaign for the oval office.
One of the cases that has been a particularly bothersome thorn in Donald Trump’s side is one that has been investigated for years, going all the way back to when he was in the Oval Office the first time. It’s coming on its first trial date in several weeks, and surrounds alleged hush money payments that Donald Trump made about his alleged affair with adult model, Stormy Daniels.
Allegations of Hush Money Payments
The case centers on allegations that Trump falsely logged payments to Michael Cohen, who was his lawyer at the time, as legal fees. In reality, they were allegedly reimbursement money, paid to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters that Trump had during his successful 2016 election campaign.
The case was the first of the criminal cases that was charged against the former president last year. He was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, which is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. The former president has pled not guilty to the charges, and denies all wrongdoing.
Consequences Regarding Online Posts
The hush money payments to Stormy Daniels were allegedly to keep her from speaking about an affair that she and Trump had in 2006, ahead of his 2016 presidential run. Trump has denied that the affair took place at all, as well as denying the charges of record falsification in the case.
The case is one that Trump has spoken about on numerous occasions on his social media platform, Truth Social. His posts about the matter have followed his previous pattern, denying the charges and calling the officials regarding the matter corrupt, but in this particular case, those posts have come back with some consequences.
A Post on Truth Social
Trump posted on Truth Social in recent weeks about the Judge in the hush money case, Juan Merchan. He has attacked the judge regarding this case before, but this particular post was a little more personal.
Trump wrote, “Judge Juan Marchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. In other words, he hates me! His daughter is a senior executive at a Super LIberal Democrat firm that works for Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden.”
Swift Reprisals
This post resulted in swift reprisals for Trump. Bringing up the judge’s daughter was seen as one step too far, and Merchan subsequently imposed a gag order on Trump in the case this past week.
The order bars Trump from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and juror in the trial. It does not, however, bar comments about Juan Merchan or his family, or criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is in charge of prosecuting the former president.
Calling for Recusal
Trump then called for the Judge to recuse himself. “Judge Merchan should be immediately sanctioned and recused, and this fake ‘case,’ only kept alive by the Highly Conflicted judge, should be completely dismissed right away – THERE IS NO CASE, THERE IS NO CRIME”
He added, “All Legal Experts and Scholars universally agree that this is a case that should have never been brought. IT IS A POLITICAL, ELECTION-INTERFERING WITCH HUNT, JUST LIKE ALL OF THE OTHER HOAXES, HEADED UP AND COORDINATE BY THE DOJ, AGAINST THE POLITICAL OPPONENT OF CROOKED JOE BIDEN IN ORDER TO HELP GET THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES RE-ELECTED!”
Expanding the Gag Order
The request for a gag order on Bragg’s part was granted, due to Trump’s history of “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” remarks about people involved in his various legal cases. The first gag order was fairly limited, but in the days since it was ordered, the gag order has been expanded.
The false posts on social media that were made in the past week about Judge Merchan’s daughter resulted in Merchan ordering an expansion of the order. Where the order didn’t originally include members of Merchan’s family, but the expansion of the gag order now includes members of Merchan’s family, including his daughter.
No Stranger to Gag Orders
Trump and his team have vigorously fought against the gag order in this case, and in other cases. Trump is no stranger to gag orders, having been imposed one in the civil fraud trial that proceeded last fall.
Trump repeatedly violated the gag order in that case, and was imposed fines for doing so by Judge Arthur Engoron. After an appeal failed, the case proceeded without further incident, gag order in place, and it seems likely that Trump will attempt the same play book with the new gag order imposed by Judge Merchan.
The Case is Proceeding
While it seems likely that Trump and his team will appeal the gag order, based on history, whether it will proceed remains to be seen. The hush money trial is set to begin on April 15, the first of what will ultimately be a long series of different trials across the country for the former President.
The hush money trial, ultimately, is the least severe of the charges that are currently facing the former president, but it could be a prelude of things to come. If Trump is found guilty in this case, it’s entirely possible that all the other cases will find him guilty as well, a first for a former president, and an outcome that Trump will, likely, fight against until the last gavel.
