Any other defendant who behaved like former President Donald Trump has regarding a judge’s gag order would probably be in jail, according to attorney Eric Holder.
He served as the attorney general for six years under President Barack Obama and he joined former Biden administration White House press secretary Jen Psaki on her MSNBC show this week to discuss Trump.
“You don’t think that she would put him in jail, or decide to put him in jail, ultimately?” Psaki asked.
“I just don’t think so,” said Holder, who went on to say: “I’d be extremely reluctant to take a former president, the leading candidate of one of our major parties, and actually put him in jail.”
Trump lost the 2020 election to current President Joe Biden (Obama’s vice president), though he continues to make unfounded claims that election fraud cost him a second term. Now, Trump is the GOP frontrunner for the 2024 election. However, he faces a mountain of legal issues – some of which have the potential to land him behind bars and prevent him from appearing on the 2024 ballot.
Just one example is his disregard for the gag order from District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan related to a case regarding Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. It was reinstated Sunday after being put on hold last month, and Trump has already lashed out against it.
“Her Hatred of President DONALD J. TRUMP is so great that she has been diagnosed with a major, and incurable, case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME!!!” said Trump of the judge on Truth Social.
“Any other defendant would probably be facing…” jail time said Holder, who described Chutkan’s order as “pretty limited.”
Holder acknowledged the difficulties associated with jailing a former president, but he said Chutkan has other options. A New York judge in a similar situation instituted monetary fines, Holder said. He also suggested limiting Trump’s access to his Truth Social profile.
It is also possible that the gag order issue could end up at the Supreme Court, but Holder told Psaki it isn’t likely. For now, he said that Trump’s actions have made things dangerous for prosecutors and others working on the case. Trump’s election fraud claims have already been linked to the deadly 2021 Capitol riot.
“That is a sad thing to say involving a legal matter involving a former president,” Holder said.
While the former attorney general seems certain that the chances of Trump ending up in prison are slim, he also believes the GOP favorite’s chances of winning the popular vote next November are also non-existent. Even when he did win in 2016, Trump Democrat opponent, Hillary Clinton, actually won the popular vote. Holder said Trump does have a chance to win via the electoral college as he did in 2016.