Former Trump administration attorney Ty Cobb is asserting that former President Donald Trump will end up in jail due to his “narcissism.” In a recent interview on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” Cobb stated that Trump’s behavior may lead to a violation of a gag order issued by Judge Tanya Chutkan, potentially resulting in jail time.
Cobb stated, “I don’t think his first or second violation of the gag order will find him sent to jail. But I think ultimately, you know, his narcissism will get the best of him, and he will violate it until he finds out what the limits of Judge Chutkan’s patience are.”
The gag order, currently under scrutiny by a three-judge panel, prevents Trump and his legal team from using language that could target special counsel Jack Smith, court staff, and witnesses in the case.
His social media posts involving individuals related to his case have raised concerns among prosecutors, who argue that such posts violate the order. Trump, on the other hand, asserts that the gag order infringes on his free speech rights and has even indicated he might appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary.
During Cobb’s interview with Burnett, the host posed a question about the potential consequences of violating the gag order, suggesting that Trump could spend a night or two in jail.
Cobb responded, “I think that’s exactly right. The judges were frustrated with both sides a little bit today because of the vagaries of their interpretation of the order and the arguments they were making. But in the end … I think this task boils down to using that scalpel skillfully to demonstrate what target or targeting actually means and … what areas of speech are actually being circumscribed by the need to avoid undermining the integrity of the judicial process.”
This is not the first time Cobb would make a prediction about Trump going to jail. Last month, he commented on the former president’s New York trial, saying that his use of social media might end up putting him in jail. According to the lawyer, it’ll take jail to get Trump to comply with Judge Arthur Engoron’s gag orders and stop his social media rants.
While he emphasized that the civil violations are not as “consequential” as the criminal conspiracy charges Trump faces in D.C., he predicted that a heavier penalty, potentially a night or weekend in jail, might be necessary to deter further violations.
Cobb, who served on the Trump administration’s legal team from July 2017 until May 2018, has been vocal about his concerns regarding the former president’s legal challenges. He has described the evidence against Trump as “overwhelming” in the classified documents case and even likened Trump to a “mob boss” in a September statement.