The gag order is ostensibly imposed to maintain the secrecy of a criminal investigation. One has the choice of complying with the gag order or going to jail for contempt. The jailing would be analogous to a jailing of a material witness against whom there were no charges. Such actions by the state are indeed Constitutional if due process is followed.
And, of course, the PATRIOT Act gags any recipient of a National Security Letter, including any communication with an attorney.
Of course, in the Wisconsin scandal, due process was used to justify a sham that was intended to punish political opponents. This happens all the time in the third world, which US progressives admire and seem intent on joining. When exceptions to fundamental liberties are tolerated, one should expect that they will continually erode.
Name me one gag order, even from the FISA court, that includes prohibiting one from contacting a lawyer!
In the original article, each example included a claim that each "suspect" was warned not to contact a lawyer.
As if the home invasion, the appropriation of private property, and the verbal abuse weren’t enough, next came ominous warnings. Don’t call your lawyer. Don’t tell anyone about this raid. Not even your mother, your father, or your closest friends.