Author and political adviser to former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Dick Morris, told Newsmax on Monday that Trump's criminal case in New York should not be subjected to a gag order, and should take place "in the court of public opinion" because he is running for president again in 2024.
"Where the hell else should a president be tried? In the court of public opinion," Morris said during "Rob Schmitt Tonight" on Monday. "This is not a serious crime. Everybody will agree it is not like murder or something that deserves its own verdict. This [case] is an adjunct of a political campaign, and if he is not permitted to defend himself in the court of public opinion, how are we electing a president, by judicial fiat? Are we [giving] the power to elect the president to 12 residents chosen at random in the most Democratic county in the country? Obviously, this begs to be tried in the court of public opinion because that's why they indicted him."
Morris was reacting to an earlier segment on the show with Democratic strategist Kristal Knight who said the New York criminal court hearing Trump's case should put a gag order in place so he could not speak about it publicly.
"Hopefully, the gag order's in place," Knight said. "What we know is that Donald Trump is not one that's able to hold back his feelings. He will absolutely fly back to Mar-a-Lago and tell his supporters everything that he knows. All of the things that he believes to be falsehoods or lies levied against him, if the gag order actually is upheld, and he violates that, it may be likely we will see Donald Trump go to jail earlier than what we originally anticipated."
The former president, the first in U.S. history to face criminal charges either in, or out, of office, is scheduled to be arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday afternoon in front of Judge Juan Merchan, NBC News reported Monday.
Although it has not happened yet, there is speculation that Merchan could impose a gag order preventing those involved with the case from speaking about it publicly until the end of the trial.
"He's no different than anyone else," former assistant District Attorney Robert Gottlieb told NBC News. "[Even as a president, Trump has no] "more rights to influence jurors or to threaten or incite violence. In that courtroom, he is only a defendant."
According to the report, Trump is already planning a public address and media event from Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night following the events of the day in court.
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