Andrew Napolitano, a former New Jersey Superior Court judge, believes former President Donald Trump should challenge the gag order in his Washington, D.C., case.
Joining Newsmax on Monday, Napolitano told "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE" that "Trump should test" Judge Tanya S. Chutkan's order to gain support among "the court of public opinion."
However, he acknowledged that it "will not do him good" inside the federal District Court for the District of Columbia, where Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith's office is trying him.
Chutkan "does have the fortitude to lock him up," Napolitano explained. "She has already ruled against him on this case and on other cases, and it would be dangerous for him to challenge her. But I'd toe the line – I'd go as far as I could."
Napolitano also cast doubts that the order will be able to be reversed, noting that it is limited in scope and "less than half of what the government wanted."
Trump was Monday not to publicly attack witnesses, prosecutors, or court staff in the federal case surrounding his alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The order largely centered on some of the former president's comments made on his social media platform, Truth Social, and during rallies for his 2024 presidential campaign that were seen as excessive.
"First Amendment protections yield to the administration of justice and to the protection of witnesses," Chutkan argued as she issued the order. "His presidential candidacy does not give him carte blanche to vilify ... public servants who are simply doing their job."
Chutkan has scheduled Trump's trial in the case to begin on March 4.
Trump announced that his legal team would appeal the order shortly after Napolitano's appearance.
In a separate New York civil case regarding the value of Trump's business and properties, Judge Arthur F. Engoron of the state Supreme Court's first district ordered him to delete a post that featured similar language.
"Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I won't tolerate it," Engoron said earlier this month. "Consider this a gag order on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking about any member of my staff."
via newsmax