Donald Trump will be the subject of a narrow gag order in his federal elections case if Special Counsel Jack Smith gets his way, but there is a "less problematic" answer for Judge Chutkan, according to a former federal prosecutor.
Trump lashed out at Smith Friday night, both on social media and during a speech at a prayer summit, after Chutkan unsealed the request by Smith to limit what the former president says about the case. Trump also appeared to admit he lost the 2020 election at the prayer summit.
Numerous legal experts have suggested the gag order request was long overdue, but former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti suggested there is a better option to avoid some of the potential pitfalls that come with restricting Trump's speech amid a campaign.
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"Jack Smith was smart to put Trump’s misconduct in front of the judge. She is not going to like it, and it certainly won’t make her more inclined to rule in his favor," Mariotti wrote Friday. "But Judge Chutkan would be wise *not* to impose a gag order. Instead she should move up the trial date."
He goes on to say that the "judge has extraordinary discretion over management of her trial calendar, and her scheduling orders are almost impossible to successfully challenge on appeal. Trump’s misconduct gives her a reason to move the date up, to reduce the impact of Trump’s misinformation."
Mariotti concluded:
"A gag order, by contrast, would be thorny given the First Amendment concerns. It would be prudent for the judge to sidestep those issues and instead use tools — like her trial calendar — that are less problematic."
