Attorneys for former President Trump say they aren’t concerned about him going to jail over violations to partial gag orders in his legal cases.
Attorney Alina Habba said Tuesday that jail is “not even something we think about,” despite concerns surrounding his pre-trial statements.
Trump has already been levied $15,000 in fines in his New York business fraud case for violating a limited order by insulting and threatening the judge’s staff. A second, more strict gag order preventing him from discussing witnesses in his federal election interference criminal case could come with more consequences if broken.
“Listen, he’s protected by Secret Service, number one. Number two, he did nothing wrong,” Habba told Newsmax in an interview. “So, when people go to jail, it’s because they’ve done something wrong.”
“Do we have crooked situations in and out of court? Absolutely. Could they try? Probably,” she said, adding “But it won’t work, because there is still a trial process, there is still facts, and fortunately they’re not going to win on the facts.”
While it is unclear if Trump could face time behind bars for violations due to his status as a former president, ex-White House lawyer Ty Cobb warned jail time could be coming.
However, in an interview with CNN on Monday, Cobb said Judge Tanya Chutkan — who is overseeing the federal election interference case — would be more likely to send Trump to jail over gag order violations than Judge Arthur Engoron is in the civil fraud case.
“Well, the New York judge fined him $10,000,” Cobb said, referring to Trump’s second fine. “That’s in a civil case. That’s not as consequential as Judge Chutkan’s case.”
“I think she’ll come in with a much heavier penalty, and ultimately, I think he’ll spend a night or a weekend in jail,” he added.
The Washington, D.C.-based federal criminal case accuses Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results. It is set to go to trial in March.