Ex-DOJ Official Explains Why Trump Gag Order Is ‘Like Failing Kindergarten’

Judge Arthur Engoron slapped Trump with the order on Tuesday after the ex-president attacked Engoron’s law clerk on social media. Engoron warned Trump that he’d face “serious sanctions” if he broke the order.

Gag orders are “really hard to get in a case,” Katyal told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner on Tuesday, because people “use common sense” during legal proceedings against them.

“It’s kind of like failing kindergarten,” he said. “To get a gag order imposed, you got to kind of try. Trump managed to work at it and do it and succeed. But it took a lot of work on his part.”

Wagner asked how likely Trump is to violate the order.

The former president will “almost certainly” break it,” said Katyal. “It’s more likely that he’ll violate the gag order than almost anything.”

Then, he said, the judge will have to decide how to punish Trump — either by another warning, a fine or even putting him in jail, said Katyal.

“Trump is a kind of Voldemort figure who gets his strength by basically attacking institutions,” he added. “Any other litigant, we would already see serious sanctions.”