Judge's video leak gag order is 'closing barn door after horses escaped': ex-U.S. attorney

A Georgia judge imposed a protective order in the sprawling racketeering case involving Donald Trump — but a former federal prosecutor faulted him for not doing so earlier.

The defense lawyer for one of the former president's co-defendants admitted that he released video interviews with Jenna Ellis, Scott Hall and Sidney Powell — who have all pleaded guilty in the case — and former U.S. attorney Barb McQuade wrote a new column for MSNBC explaining why the judge's order was necessary.

"Leaks in criminal cases are often blamed on prosecutors," McQuade wrote, "but in my experience, it’s more often the case that such unauthorized disclosures come from attorneys for defendants or witnesses, in an effort to make their own clients look better in the public arena."

Defense attorney Jonathan Miller, who represents defendant Misty Hampton, admitted to leaking the videos to help make his client look better, and Judge Scott McAfee entered the protective order to prevent more leaks — but McQuade argued one should have been in place all along.

"The public has no right to this information," she wrote. "Not at this stage and in this format. Defense attorneys receive discovery material to allow them to prepare their defense for trial, not to try their cases in the press. Previewing evidence in the media can taint a jury pool and cause potential jurors to form opinions about a case before the trial begins."

"The protective order will prevent future disclosures of sensitive discovery material, but it is a bit like closing the barn door after the horses have escaped," McQuade added.