Failed one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump could be in very big trouble with comments he made on his Truth Social site about a retiring general.
Trump attacked outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, suggesting that he deserved “death” for disagreeing with the ex-president.
Here’s what Trump posted:
“Mark Milley, who led perhaps the most embarrassing moment in American history with his grossly incompetent implementation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, costing many lives, leaving behind hundreds of American citizens, and handing over BILLIONS of dollars of the finest military equipment ever made, will be leaving the military next week. This will be a time for all citizens of the USA to celebrate!”
“This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH! A war between China and the United States could have been the result of this treasonous act. To be continued!!!”
As several legal experts noted, Trump’s post appears to be a “death threat” aimed at Gen. Milley. And that alone would be a direct violation of the bail conditions set on the former president, meaning he could face harsh sanctions from judges overseeing his cases in Georgia, Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C., especially since Milley could wind up being a witness in the federal case involving Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Tristan Snell, a former assistant attorney general in New York, noted, “My bet: Donald Trump is threatening General Milley because General Milley is on the government’s witness list for the trial in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.”
Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs analyst for Politico, wrote:
“One question I have about Trump’s overnight attack on Milley: Is he on the government’s witness list for Trump’s DC trial? He was a key Jan. 6 committee witness who said Trump privately admitted losing the election.”
“The reason it matters if Milley is a potential trial witness (which Trump would know based on discovery) is the part of his release conditions in which he specifically swore not to tamper with or intimidate witnesses.”
If indeed Trump violated his bail, expect Special Counsel Jack Smith to file paperwork on Monday with the court asking for a judge to slap the ex-president with sanctions that could include home confinement, a ban from social media, and having his trial date moved up significantly.
