MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough got into a testy exchange with a “Morning Joe” guest Thursday on whether former President Donald Trump should be sentenced to jail for violating a gag order.
Scarborough pushed back against MSNBC political analyst Michael Steele as he argued the legal process in the U.S. is “not prepared” to handle Trump during his ongoing civil case regarding alleged fraud while constructing his real estate business in New York. The lawsuit was brought forth by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is seeking $250 million in damages and the revoking of his business license in New York.
Scarborough argued the judge should wait for Trump to appeal his possible jail sentence to the United States Supreme Court over his alleged violation of a gag order put in place by Judge Arthur Engoron. The order prohibits Trump or anyone in his legal team from speaking publicly about the case.
“The reality of it is that what was already seen just yesterday. Donald Trump basically says to his followers, you do it and there is no, I mean at the end of the day, I don’t think this system is prepared to deal with this menace,” Steele said.
“Yeah it is,” Scarborough said.
“No they’re not, Joe,” Steele pushed back.
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“There is gonna be a judge that’s gonna say,” Scarborough began.
“But where’s that judge?” Steele asked. (RELATED: ‘They’re All Corrupt People’: Trump Says Civil Fraud Case Is An Attempt To ‘Hurt’ Him In 2024)
“The judge is gonna say you need to come into the courtroom, we put a gag order on you, you violated the gag order, you’re gonna need to go to jail for two days. You want to appeal it to the Supreme Court, I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do, I’ll let you walk around. I’m not gonna send you straight to jail. You appeal it to the United States Supreme Court, see what they have to say.”
“You’ve already shaded it. This is my point,” Steele said. “You say, ‘Well I’m not gonna put you in jail I’m gonna let you walk around.’ He’s not going to jail, that’s the point.”
Scarborough called on the judge to “give Donald Trump every benefit of the doubt” as he appeals the case to the Supreme Court.
“He’s got every benefit of the doubt,” Steele said. “That’s the problem.”
“Micheal, if the judge rules that he’s in contempt of court and needs to spend time in a federal penitentiary, it’s okay to say you’re going to spend a week in a federal penitentiary pending the appeal,” Scarborough argued. “Make your appeal.”
“Joe, I’m not arguing—” Steele said.
“Then, I agree with you, if it goes up to the Supreme Court, and the Roberts of the Supreme Court is not going to allow any defendant, any defendant, to run over a judge or threaten a judge, they’re going to uphold it and he’s gonna be going to jail with a full way to the United States Supreme Court, a conservative Supreme Court, saying he belongs in jail for a week.”
Steele said the system is not prepared “to pull the trigger” that Scarborough described, which he argued will keep Trump out of jail.