I’m looking for a factual answer but since this question is obviously about Trump, I’ll put it here.
On “Truth” Social, interviews, and the press, DJT has constantly referred to Jack Smith, the special prosecutor investigating him, as a thug, deranged, corrupt, and a host of other things too numerous to mention. Although I assume that this is a dubious legal strategy, is there anything that prevents him from doing it? It seems like jury tampering to me as he is trying to make all potential jurors believe that Smith is simply a partisan hack. I have no idea where “deranged” comes from.
If this was any other defendant/prosecutor combination, would the prosecutor have a good libel case? I understand that libel is difficult to show when the parties are public figures.
It’s not just that it’s hard to prove libel with a public figure. The other problem is going to be proving that statements like this
“The prosecutor in the case, I will call our case, is a thug. I have named him ‘Deranged Jack Smith,’” Trump said. “He’s a behind-the-scenes guy, but his record is absolutely atrocious. He does political hit jobs.”
“He’s a raging and uncontrolled Trump hater, as is his wife, who happened to be the producer of that Michelle Obama puff piece.
are statements of fact rather than opinion. If Trump accused Smith of specific actions, such as saying that Smith took money from the Clintons in return for prosecuting Trump, that would clearly be Trump stating a fact which could be either true or false. But all the statements I’ve seen really involve opinion - you might believe Smith is a deranged Trump hater and I might not. But neither of us is objectively correct or incorrect, and in face, we might agree on the facts ( Smith is prosecuting Trump) even while we have different opinions about why ( because he is a Trump hater or because he believes Trump is guilty) .
As an aside, I actually saw the mango mussolini’s speech “Deranged Jack Smith” this morning, and he had this slight pregnant pause De — ranged … it literally reminded me of some bully on a playground.
I think the only time he will get in trouble is if he directly tells his mob fans to actually go and harm the prosecutorial side.
A bunch of Joe Columbo Jr’s friends and family, including both parents and at least one sibling, participated in protests claiming the prosecution was anti-Italian bigotry. But as far as I can find, the family member under indictment was more discrete outside the courtroom. There later was a disturbance in the courtroom, but that targeted a witness rather than the prosecution.
So you could say Trump’s personal attack on the prosecutor is a bit over the top even by mafia standards. And it leaves me wondering whether maybe there is something legally questionable, along the lines of incitement, about calling the prosecutor a deranged lunatic psycho.
Prosecutors are officers of the court, so in the extreme hypothetical case, I suppose a threat or intimidation of the prosecuting attorney could lead to a citation for indirect contempt of court. But, criminal contempt is a crime and that means it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the contemptor a) willfully b) said something about the prosecutor c) outside of the courtroom d) that was calculated to e) and actually does f) clearly and presently g) hinder the orderly administration of justice in that court. These elements would all have to be proved while preserving the defendant’s due process rights, including the right against self-incrimination.
ETA: The case law I can find is mostly during the trial or after an unfavorable verdict - see for example Hoeffer v. State, 696 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). So I’m not 100% sure if it could apply after arraignment but before the trial proper has begun, but I don’t see why not.
Discreet. As for being “discrete,” I’m pretty sure he was neither more nor less so than members of his family (except for any of his family members who happened to have been conjoined twins).
In the case of someone like Trump, the presiding judge could impose a gag order with penalties for speaking about the trial in public and… oh wait, never mind.
“The fate of our nation is at stake, if righteous Americans do nothing to stop it, everyone who isn’t black or gay will be rounded up in camps and exterminated. But do so peacefully, don’t anybody fire bomb his house on 4263 Peach Tree terrace or rough up his children as they walk home from Oak Mills elementary”