Former President Donald Trump could soon be hit with a gag order because he “cannot shut up,” according to retired Judge LaDoris Cordell.
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday that he was “coming after” those who “go after” him. The post, which some said constituted a “threat,” ignited a legal firestorm in the federal felony case centered on Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome and the subsequent January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Shortly after the post, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked in a court filing for a protective order that would limit Trump’s ability to publicly share details of the case. Lawyers for the former president filed a response asking U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to reject the request on Monday. A hearing on the matter is expected to take place by Friday.
Cordell, who formerly served on the California Superior Court, said during a CNN appearance on Monday that Trump’s Truth Social post may not impact Chutkan’s decision on the protective order but could result in the judge issuing a far more broad gag order against the former president.
Julie Bennett
“I don’t know necessarily that [Trump’s post] impacts the protective order, but that certainly would get me thinking, if I were the trial judge, about a gag order in this case,” Cordell said. “It’s clearly a threat. And a good trial judge doesn’t just look at the law, you use common sense.”
Cordell then predicted that Trump would quickly violate any gag order that Chutkan may issue, forcing the judge to ponder “consequences” for the ex-president.
“My guess is that Trump would violate it in a heartbeat,” said Cordell. “And then we’ll see what the judge does in terms of consequences for violating yet another court order.”
Cordell went on to say that she thought a gag order to “ensure a fair trial” in the January 6 case was likely to be issued due to Trump being a “chatty Charlie.”
“I absolutely can see it coming because this man cannot shut up,” she said. “He’s a chatty Charlie and he’s going to just talk and talk. And he really doesn’t care about rules that say you can speak or cannot speak.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche via email on Monday.
Months before Cordell suggested that a gag order could be on the way in the January 6 case, speculation was rife about Trump facing a gag order after he was handed his first criminal indictment on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York.
Regardless of the speculation, no gag order was issued in the New York or federal felony case related to Trump’s post-presidency handling of classified documents.
Trump, the leading Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, has pleaded not guilty to all charges on which he’s been arraigned and frequently claims that he is the “persecuted” victim of a “witch hunt” and “election interference.”