In a recent conversation with Mary Trump, attorney Joe Gallina asserted that former President Donald Trump is at risk of facing incarceration if speech restrictions are reinstated in his election subversion case. This revelation followed a federal appeals court hearing on Monday, where arguments were presented regarding the gag order imposed on Trump in the federal case accusing him of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. While the court did not immediately issue a decision, there were indications of a potential reimposition of speech restrictions on Trump, as reported by the Associated Press.
In October, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing the case, initially imposed a gag order, prohibiting Trump from publicly criticizing prosecutors, court staff, and potential witnesses. Chutkan lifted the order briefly, allowing Trump’s legal team to argue against speech restrictions. However, the order was reinstated after Trump’s comments were deemed an attempt to influence his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, from providing unfavorable testimony. The appeals court temporarily lifted the order as it considered Trump’s appeal.
Gallina, sharing insights from the hearing, disclosed, “I think they’re going to go in and change or at least limit the gag order in a way that makes it very abundantly clear what kind of speech throws it over the line.” He expressed the possibility of judges imposing penalties, including fines, if Trump violates any reinstated gag order, emphasizing the looming threat of imprisonment: “It is true that Donald is a risk, and somebody’s got to hold him accountable. And I do think we’ll see fines, but if he keeps doing it, he’s going to end up in jail. There’s no way he can get out of that. I think that’s a very likely possibility.”
Newsweek reached out to a Trump attorney for comment via email, but as of now, there has been no response.
Trump, denying any wrongdoing in the case brought by special counsel Smith, has consistently attacked Smith and others involved in the criminal proceedings against him as a focal point of his campaign to reclaim the presidency in 2024. Prosecutors argue that Trump’s verbal assaults pose a threat to the case’s integrity and risk inciting violence among his supporters.
Mary Trump, in her conversation with Gallina, highlighted a concerning incident where a Texas woman was charged with making a death threat against Judge Chutkan, just a day after Trump’s social media post in August declaring, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” She underscored the potential consequences of Trump’s rhetoric, stating, “We already know that Donald’s maligning of officers of the court…has already stirred up violent intent if not violent action.”
The four-count indictment against Trump in Washington is one of four criminal prosecutions he faces, with the trial scheduled for March 4. In addition to federal charges in Florida and state charges in New York and Georgia, Trump has pleaded not guilty to all allegations.
Meanwhile, a limited gag order in Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York, issued last month by the overseeing judge, was temporarily lifted last week.
