Donald Trump Lost in His First Battle in Federal Criminal Court

MIAMI—Former President Donald Trump loves to style himself as the ultimate winner. But on his first day in federal criminal court, he lost. 

Trump’s lawyers tried and failed to stop Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman from ordering Trump not to speak about his case with witnesses, or with his co-defendant and personal aide, Walt Nauta, as a condition of his release. 

The order is a common one for criminal defendants. But it now raises the surreal spectacle of a federal judge ordering the notoriously big-mouthed former president to shut the hell up about something. It creates an awkward vibe for Trump and Nauta, since both men still work together and see each other regularly. And it represents a new way in which the legal system is beginning to chip away at Trump’s control over his world, as he’s drawn more deeply into the realm of criminal law as a defendant. 

Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 37 criminal counts, including violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice, for allegedly squirrelling away classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after his presidency. Trump has denied all wrongdoing. He could face a two-decade long prison sentence if he’s convicted.  

Trump generally hates it when he’s ordered not to do something, and often pushes back against such demands made by people in authority. For example, in his other criminal case in New York City, Judge Juan Merchan politely asked Trump to refrain from doing anything to rile up his supporters or incite violence, since prosecutors have received a lot of threats. Trump responded by mocking the judge’s wife and daughter on stage only hours later. 

In Miami on Tuesday, Judge Goodman ordered the prosecution to give Trump’s legal team a list of witnesses to whom Trump should avoid speaking to about the case. 

Such witnesses could include other people who still work for Trump, including in security roles and as other types of aides, according to Trump’s legal team. 

“One of the key witnesses we know of is still the president’s lawyer,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche told Judge Goodman Tuesday, in an apparent reference to Trump lawyer and crucial witness Evan Corcoran. “We respectfully request that you reconsider that special condition.” 

But Judge Goodman said nope, he’d like to keep it. So now Trump will have to stick to it, or else risk ending up in even more legal trouble. 

The question now becomes how Trump will treat such an order—and what the judge will decide to do if he feels Trump is refusing to obey a direct order. Normally, if a defendant fails to comply with the conditions of their release, the court can revoke bail and send them to prison until their trial is over.  

Whether a judge would have the guts to do that to a former president–and one currently running in the Republican presidential primary–is anyone’s guess.