Donald Trump already had done plenty of speaking to the media during the pre-trial run-up to his hush-money criminal case in Manhattan.

Trump couldn’t stop his whining about how unfair it was…that New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan put a gag order in place, attempting the impossible – silencing Donald Trump.

By Monday, the order had to be strengthened and expanded to cover the judge’s daughter, who – and this isn’t ideal – is involved in Democratic politics. She works at a digital agency that focuses on Democratic issues. It is a bit disconcerting that a judge would have a daughter so closely tied to political causes.

But few cases are this political. Regardless, none of this means that the judge can’t be fair. Still, Trump filed a motion to have Merchan recuse himself which was denied.

After Merchan refused to recuse himself, Trump – again and again, attacked the judge’s daughter and her work, even posting links on Truth Social from conservative writers Steven Richards and Gregg Jarrett, calling for the judge’s recusal while discussing Merchan’s daughter.

Here are just a few:

The Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake noted the timeline. Transcript via Mediaite:

“On Monday, a judge issued a gag order preventing Trump from attacking the judge’s daughter. On Tuesday, Trump posted a Fox and Friends video that included discussion of the judge’s daughter. Today, Trump is going even further, posting multiple stories that focus on the judge’s daughter.”

On Monday, a judge issued a gag order preventing Trump from attacking the judge's daughter.

On Tuesday, Trump posted a Fox and Friends video that included discussion of the judge's daughter.

Today, Trump is going even further, posting multiple stories that focus on the judge's… pic.twitter.com/vxE5C4WP8Y

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) April 5, 2024

Merchan has yet to respond to Trump’s violations of the order.

The easiest thing to do if one was in Judge Merchan’s shoes is to find Trump in contempt of court, fine Donald Trump a significant amount of money, and then give Trump exactly what he wants – without a delay (or much of a delay), a new judge.

Any judge who rules against Trump in any way is going to be criticized and called a liberal hack, so pass the case along and let another fair, impartial judge – one without a daughter involved in Democratic causes, take the case. The result will likely be the same, guilty or not.

Without regard to any of the above, Merchan has the right to control the proceedings in front of him and should hold Trump accountable for violating strict orders. We have seen these situations get dangerous. It is amazing that more people haven’t been killed.

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[email protected] and on “X” @JasonMiciak