XPost: alt.politics.trump, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: george_pees@me.not   
      
   Manhattan prosecutors on Friday detailed new death threats they argued were   
   tied “directly” to Donald Trump’s “dangerous rhetoric” — as they   
   also   
   approved allowing the ex-president to rip witnesses in his hush money case   
   now that the verdict’s in.   
      
   Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office agreed with lawyers for   
   Trump, 78, that the limited gag order in the case — in which a jury the   
   presumptive Republican presidential nominee guilty of covering up a payment   
   to a porn star — should be lifted as it relates to trial witnesses like   
   Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.   
      
   “The compelling interest in protecting the witnesses’ ability to testify   
   without interference is no longer present” in light of last month’s   
   verdict,   
   the DA’s office wrote in a letter to the court.   
      
   But the rest of the order — which is designed to protect the safety of   
   people involved in the case — should remain in place, prosecutors said,   
   highlighting 56 alarming new threats received by Bragg, his family and his   
   staff since April, that the NYPD deemed “actionable.”   
      
   Two people “involved in this case” received bomb threats at their homes on   
   the day jury selection kicked off on April 15, according to a sworn   
   affidavit from an NYPD sergeant who heads Bragg’s security detail.   
      
   Another “threatening post” disclosed the home address of a DA employee   
   involved in the case, the sergeant wrote.   
      
   A separate post depicted “sniper sights on people involved in this case or a   
   family member of such a person,” and other attacks included the language   
   “we   
   will kill you all,” “RIP,” and “your life is done,” the affidavit   
   says.   
      
   The recent crop of threats are “directly connected” to Trump’s   
   “dangerous   
   rhetoric about this prosecution,” according to Bragg’s office.   
      
   “As defendant’s continued conduct makes clear, the need to protect   
   participants in this criminal proceeding and the integrity of the criminal   
   justice process from defendant’s attacks remains critically important,”   
   prosecutors wrote.   
      
   Trump has an extensive history of online attacks on witnesses, lawyers and   
   judges involved in the criminal cases against him. In March 2023, he posted   
   an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to Bragg’s head —   
   threatening “death and destruction” if he was criminally charged in New   
   York.   
      
   In an interview with the TV host Dr. Phil given a week after the Manhattan   
   jury convicted him on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, Trump   
   insisted that he had “every right” to seek retribution against his enemies.   
      
   “Sometimes revenge can be justified Phil, I have to be honest,” Trump said   
   in the interview, without specifying who he was talking about.   
      
   The gag order has always allowed Trump to criticize the case in broad terms   
   and to attack Bragg and Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.   
      
   During the trial, Trump did so repeatedly, while arguing that the case was a   
   politically motivated plot against him.   
      
   Any changes to the gag order, including allowing Trump to speak about   
   witnesses like Cohen and Daniels, would need to be approved first by the   
   judge before going into effect.   
      
   Trump has repeatedly complained that the gag order is unfair — but state   
   appeals courts have kept it in place, rejecting the ex-president’s claim   
   that his First Amendment rights were breached.   
      
   Merchan fined Trump $10,000 for violating the order 10 times, including by   
   griping about the jury on an April 22 radio show.   
      
   Trump claimed in an interview that the jury was “95% Democrats,” despite   
   the   
   fact that none of the jurors were asked to disclose their political parties,   
   which is a normal practice in politically heated cases like his.   
      
   Trump is due to be sentenced on July 11. He could face up to four years in   
   prison, or, more likely, either probation or a conditional discharge that   
   could include community service.   
      
   Trump’s legal team did not respond Friday to a request to comment.   
      
   Audie Murphy   
   18 minutes ago   
      
   Joe Biden and his minions have repeatedly described Trump as a threat to   
   democracy.  That could be viewed as an implicit incitement to Trump's   
   assassination, but you don't hear Trump whining about it.   
      
   Southern Transplant   
   23 minutes ago   
      
   I don't approve of or condone death threats, but Bragg has some   
   responsibility here for pursuing this ridiculous case against Trump, while   
   overlooking the prosecution of actual criminals on the streets of NYC   
      
   SCOTT STEVENS   
   26 minutes ago   
      
      
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