Judge Just Took 'Extraordinary' Step Against Donald Trump: Legal Analyst

Legal analyst Joyce Vance wrote on Friday that a federal judge took an "extraordinary" step against Donald Trump when he vaguely called out "troubling" actions made by people who threaten those in the judicial system and their families.

Trump has launched a series of online attacks against Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the former president's New York hush money case, and his family this week after being barred from publicly speaking about witnesses and court staff. Merchan, his family, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the criminal case against Trump, are excluded from the gag order imposed on Tuesday, meaning they are fair game for Trump's attacks.

The former president has been indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels has alleged that she was paid to keep silent about an affair she had with Trump in the early 2000s.

Trump, who is the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims the case is politically motivated. He has also denied claims of an affair with Daniels.

Senior Judge Reggie Walton, a George W. Bush appointee in the District of Columbia, told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Thursday night that "it is very troubling" when judges and their families are threatened.

"We do these jobs because we're committed to the rule of law and we believe in the rule of law and the rule of law can only function effectively when we have judges who are prepared to carry out their duties without the threat of potential physical harm," he said.

Vance, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under the Barack Obama administration and current MSNBC legal analyst, wrote in an article on Substack that Walton's comments were a "clear reference to Trump," adding, "It's extraordinary for a sitting federal judge to do something like this, and it shows Judge Walton, who is highly respected, feels a sense of urgency about where we are headed."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesman via email for comment.

Trump attacked Judge Merchan and his daughter Loren Merchan in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday: "Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. In other words, he hates me!

"His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for [Democratic California Representative] Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden."

According to a June 2022 wedding announcement in Politico, Loren Merchan was the president and partner of Authentic Campaigns, a progressive political consulting firm.

Authentic Campaigns has listed Vice President Kamala Harris' 2020 presidential campaign, Kamala Harris for the People, the Biden-Harris campaign and Schiff's super Political Action Committee (PAC) as clients.

In another post from Thursday, Trump called Loren Merchan a "Rabid Trump Hater," adding, "Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately."