Fox News contributors Sol Wisenberg and David Schoen slammed the partial gag order proposed for former President Donald Trump on Monday’s episode of “The Ingraham Angle.”
Wisenberg said that the judge needs to be “very careful” because if the gag order is too broad it will likely be “overturned.” He suggested that Trump will attempt to appeal or challenge “it with an injunction.” He also suggested that the gag order attempt could backfire by delaying Trump’s trial, which would be in the former president’s interest. (RELATED: ‘Uncharted Territory’: Obama-Appointed Judge’s Gag Order On Trump Is The First Of Its Kind, Legal Experts Say)
Fox News host Laura Ingraham pointed out that the judge, Tanya S. Chutkan, warned Trump against “launching” a “pre-trial smear campaign against those who might testify against him.”
Schoen slammed the judge, saying that she’s “absolutely wrong” and that she’s waging “a frontal attack on the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.”
“He’s a citizen of the United States. Criminal defendants are entitled to presumption of innocence,” he said.
Schoen added that Trump is “entitled” to criticize the case and the other parties involved publicly, including special counsel Jack Smith.
“I think that what she has done is an affront to our fundamental core values of free speech,” Schoen added.
“It is outrageous,” Wisenberg said of the apparent attempt to prevent criticism of the prosecution team.
“This is third world!” Ingraham exclaimed.
“He’s presumed innocent under our system. The one thing he can’t do is intimidate potential witnesses,” Wisenberg said in defense of Trump’s free speech rights.
Trump was issued a gag order by Chutkan on Monday, barring him from publicly going after witnesses and prosecutors related to his 2020 election indictment, Politico reported. The gag order would likely impact Trump’s behavior on both social media and on the campaign trail, as he will be prohibited from publicly attacking Smith.