Former White House Lawyer Warns Trump Could Face Jail Time for Breaking Gag Order

According to former White House lawyer Ty Cobb, putting former President Donald Trump in jail might be the only way to make him comply with a recently reinstated gag order. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan initially imposed the order on Trump earlier this month, but it was temporarily lifted on October 20th to allow Trump and his lawyers to appeal the ruling.

However, the gag order was reinstated on Sunday, preventing Trump from publicly speaking about certain witnesses and prosecutors involved in the 2020 election subversion case out of Washington. Federal government special counsel Jack Smith brought the case against Trump, and Judge Chutkan emphasized the importance of the orderly administration of justice over participants’ First Amendment rights.

In addition to the gag order in Washington, Trump is also under a gag order in his civil fraud case in New York. He was fined $10,000 last week for making a comment in a courthouse hallway about the judge and a clerk. Earlier, he had also been fined $5,000 for violating the gag order with a social media post on his campaign website.

Ty Cobb, who previously worked on Trump’s legal team, expressed his belief that the penalty in Judge Chutkan’s case will be much heavier and potentially include jail time. He stated in an interview on CNN that he thinks Trump will need to spend a night or a weekend in jail to finally put an end to his disregard for the gag order.

Despite the gag order, Trump has vowed to appeal, arguing that it infringes on his First Amendment rights. He called the order “illegal and unconstitutional” and stated that it puts him at a disadvantage against his opponents. Trump is known for using social media to attack people and openly discuss his legal cases.

His Washington trial is scheduled for March 4th.