‘Sufficient risk’

Gag orders against DAs are fairly rare. There are state rules of professional conduct that generally limit what prosecutors can say about a case outside the courtroom to prevent comments that could taint a jury pool.

News organizations, including the AJC, have routinely fought against gag orders in cases, arguing they erode First Amendment principles.

But they are becoming almost commonplace in trials involving the former president, who has used his vast platform to attack the prosecutors, judges, court employees and witnesses. That includes Willis and Nathan Wade, the DA’s former romantic partner who until recently led the Trump case as a special prosecutor, as well as would-be witnesses in the Georgia case, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

On Tuesday, Trump was put under his third gag order in recent months ahead of the April 15 start of a Manhattan trial over his alleged falsification of business records to cover up a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign. The order from acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan bars Trump from making statements about potential witnesses or jurors, court staff, Manhattan prosecutors (with the exception of DA Alvin Bragg) and their families.

Trump’s track record of “prior extrajudicial statements establishes a sufficient risk to the administration of justice,” Merchan wrote.

Casting aspersions

While Trump hasn’t held back from complaining about Willis and Wade on his social media site and during campaign events, the heat most recently in the Fulton case has been on the DA’s office.

As they sought to disqualify the DA due to an alleged financial conflict of interest from her relationship with Wade, defense attorneys highlighted public comments Willis made to the press throughout the course of her investigation, and particularly to the authors of a recent book about the veteran prosecutor.

The group, led by Trump’s top Atlanta attorneys, Steve Sadow and Jennifer Little, alleged that Willis had committed so-called “forensic misconduct,” improperly commenting on her personal belief in the defendants’ guilt in a case, which is a disqualifying offense in Georgia.

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