Trump Is About to Get Schooled by Judge: Kirschner

Former President Donald Trump is about to get "schooled" by New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, according to legal analyst Glenn Kirschner.

Merchan on Thursday ordered Trump to appear remotely at a May 23 hearing regarding an order, issued on Monday, that bans him from using evidence to attack witnesses in his criminal trial. The former president pleaded not guilty after being charged last month with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, said during the latest episode of his Justice Matters podcast on Friday that the coming hearing would involve Merchan "essentially directing defendant Trump to sit his butt down and be schooled on the prohibitions" that he put in place "to control Trump's dangerousness."

He also said that the court appearance would be used to back a future charge of contempt against the ex-president, predicting that Trump would inevitably violate Merchan's order despite attempts to curb his "petulant" behavior.

"I'm glad Judge Merchan is treating defendant Trump like the dangerous, petulant, untrustworthy person he is," said Kirschner. "There is no expectation that this will alter Donald Trump's behavior ... when he violates the protective order, not 'if' he violates the protective order."

"When Donald Trump violates the protective order, Judge Merchan will have everything he needs to hold him in contempt," he continued. "It is really important that Judge Merchan do everything necessary to set Donald Trump up to be held in contempt when he violates the protective order."

Kirschner explained that the May 23 hearing would prevent Trump from being able to argue that his defense attorneys are to blame or say that he was "misinformed" if he does violate the order.

"That possible defense is being taken away by Judge Merchan because he's going to sit Donald Trump down and school him like the dangerous child," Kirschner said.

In response to a request for comment, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung emailed Newsweek a previously shared statement dismissing Kirschner as "a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis."

"I would expect nothing more from a clout-chasing MSNBC contributor who has been shunned by the legal community at large," said Cheung.

Other legal analysts have also said that the hearing could set the stage for the former president to face more criminal charges, although lesser penalties could be more likely.

Attorney Christa Ramey of ACTS Law previously told Newsweek that Merchan was "trying not to interfere" with Trump's 2024 presidential run and would likely give the former president "a lot of leeway" regarding sanctions.

"Trump will not be able to help himself. I am sure he will violate some of these orders," said Ramey. "Penalties will likely be civil contempt at first in the form of sanctions, i.e., money, against Trump and/or his attorneys."

"If there are multiple violations, criminal contempt charges could be possible," she added. "But they would be extremely unlikely and only if Trump did something extreme."

Last week, Trump's attorneys requested that his criminal trial be moved from New York to a federal court, reasoning that the case "involves important federal questions."

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has set a June 27 hearing date to consider the request to move the trial, while allowing proceedings to continue under Merchan in the meantime.