Former Federal Prosecutor Predicts Judge Chutkan Will Haul Trump Back Into Court and ‘Admonish’ Him As If He Were ‘A Small Child’

MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance said Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Donald Trump’s indictment for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, is treating the former president’s public outbursts as though he is “a small child.”

Trump was arraigned earlier this month on four counts stemming from his attempts to remain in power after losing the election. Since then – as is customary for him when facing legal trouble – Trump, who pleaded not guilty, has railed against those involved in his case. That includes Chutkan.

Last week, the judge issued a protective order against the former president, warning him not to make “inflammatory statements” about the case and also cautioned him to avoid “the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials.”

On Monday, Trump claimed on his Truth Social website that Chutkan “obviously wants me behind bars.”

Appearing on The ReidOut, Vance noted Chutkan has broad judicial discretion.

“How could she actually move this forward?” guest host Jason Johnson asked. “Would she have the power to say, you know, Trump’s legal team doesn’t have as much time to do research? Could she say I’m not going to let as many witnesses? What would speeding it up look like if Trump continues to violate the protective order?”

“So, her obligation is to guarantee Trump’s lawyers and the former president have adequate time to prepare for trial, that his due process rights are observed,” Vance responded. “But that’s not a set number of days, like the 70 days called for in the Speedy Trial Act. There’s a lot of judicial discretion involved.”

Vance went on to explain that Chutkan may reject requests from Trump’s attorneys seeking delays for various reasons in the lead-up to the trial.

“And so for instance, instead of accommodating requests for week-long vacations ahead of trial, or time to attend family gatherings, she might say, sorry, we’re out. We can’t take those sorts of detours because we need to go ahead and get a jury struck and in the box before your client can taint the jury pool anymore. And she could insist on a fairly straight-line schedule going forward.”

Vance predicted that Chutkan will haul Trump back into court over his behavior.

“She may admonish him,” Vance said. “It will be professional. It will not be personal. But judges believe in progressive discipline – if we’re talking about her and the way one might interact with a small child. And she will be very explicit with him before she goes to the next level of disciplining him in order to ensure that everyone involved can get a fair trial.”

Watch above via MSNBC.