U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, overseeing the lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of rape and defamation, at the start of day two issued a warning after the ex-president made “entirely inappropriate” comments on social media about the case and the woman suing him, E. Jean Carroll.
The issue appears to be a big deal to Judge Kaplan, who warned Joe Tacopina, Trump’s attorney Wednesday morning.
“This is shaping up to be a protracted issue this morning,” reports Law & Crime’s Adam Klasfeld, “and perhaps, on ongoing one throughout the trial if Trump keeps posting.”
“Judge Kaplan says Trump’s comments are ‘entirely inappropriate,'” Klasfeld reports. “Tacopina says he’ll “try to address that with my client.”
Klasfeld adds, “Tacopina says he’ll ask him to refrain from any further posts regarding this case.'”
“Well, I hope you’re more successful,” Judge Kaplan said, as he appeared to possibly threaten a contempt of court charge, which in theory might mean jail time.
Trump “may or may not be tampering with a new source of potential liability,” the judge warned. “And I think you know what I mean.”
In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform Wednesday morning, Trump called the civil lawsuit against him a “scam,” a “fraudulent & false story,” and a “Witch Hunt!” among other remarks.
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti weighed in, saying: “Although I don’t expect Judge Kaplan to take any direct action against Trump for his bizarre posts on Truth Social during the trial, it’s apparent that Kaplan is (rightfully) upset.”
“It’s not going to help Trump’s team when the judge is considering a close call,” he adds, “that’s for sure.”