Judge threatens to lock up Trump

Former President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in New York City, U.S., April 30, 2024.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in New York City, U.S., April 30, 2024.
REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The judge in the so-called hush money case in New York against presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has fined the former president for repeatedlyviolating a gag order that bars him from publicly criticizing witnesses and jurors. Trump is probably unconcerned with the $9,000 penalty, but Judge Juan Merchan has also warned that further public attacks on people who are part of the case could land him in jail.

As part of his order, Merchan argues the threat of jail is necessary because even the largest fine he’s allowed to impose may “not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine.”

Readers can decide for themselves how likely Trump is to comply with this order as the trial continues and his frustration with sitting silently in the courtroom grows. But there’s now a genuine possibility that a judge will order a leading candidate to sit behind bars in the middle of his presidential campaign.

His first response to the fine was to issue a fundraising email with this message: “I was fined $9,000 for 9 gag order violations. THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME! They think they can BLEED ME DRY and SHUT ME UP, but I’ll NEVER stop fighting for YOU.” Trump has since removed the social media posts that violated the judge’s order, but he also posted a new message accusing Merchan of “RIGGING THE PRESIDENTIAL OF 2024 ELECTION. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying records to hide a $130,000 payment intended to buy the silence of an adult film star who claims the former president had sex with her.

More from GZERO Media

- YouTube

This is the twenty-fifth time that Vladimir Putin has greeted the new year as ruler of Russia. To mark the occasion, he takes a look back at just how far he has come. Do you remember what was on the billboard charts when he first took power? #PUPPETREGIME

Exclusive: Ian Bremmer’s Top Risks for 2025
Annie Gugliotta

Every January, Eurasia Group, our parent company, produces a report with its forecast for the world's Top 10 Risks in the year ahead. Its authors are EG President Ian Bremmer and EG Chairman Cliff Kupchan. Ian explains the Top 10 Risks for 2025, one after the other. He also discusses the three Red Herrings.

FILE PHOTO: Palestinian children walk past the rubble of houses, destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 7, 2025.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo

The war in Gaza took center stage Tuesday at President-elect Donald Trump’s second press conference since his election in November.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., September 25, 2024.

REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo

In a major policy shift, Meta announced on Tuesday that it is ending its third-party fact-checking program across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in favor of a community-based moderation system similar to X's Community Notes.

France National Front presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen addresses a political rally in Lille on Feb. 25, 2007.

REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Jean-Marie Le Pen, whose ultranationalist and conservative views enraged millions but also shaped the contemporary French political scene, died on Tuesday at 96.

Photo illustration showing Elon Musk's post on X on a mobile phone, with a Union Jack in the background. Elon Musk has posted a stream of online attacks on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his platform X, formerly Twitter.

Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Musk has written a number of recent social media posts to show his support of far-right populists in Europe and to attack politicians on the left. Now, European leaders believe, is the time to brush him back.

Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab has unveiled SPARROW – Solar-Powered Acoustic and Remote Recording Observation Watch – a revolutionary AI-powered solution to measure and protect Earth’s biodiversity. Operating autonomously in remote locations, SPARROW collects and processes biodiversity data in real time using solar-powered sensors and edge computing. Data is transmitted via low-Earth orbit satellites directly to the cloud, enabling researchers worldwide to gain critical insights without disturbing ecosystems. This open-source innovation empowers conservationists, NGOs, and citizen scientists to accelerate biodiversity protection on a global scale. You can learn more here.

When his daughter was born, Johnny was able to use Walmart’s paid parental leave to spend six weeks bonding with her: “I’m a living example of the benefits Walmart provides.” Walmart’s comprehensive benefits — including paid parental leave, healthcare, tuition coverage, and more — help associates live better at work and at home. With a $1 billion investment in career-driven training and development, Walmart is creating pathways to higher-paying, higher-skilled jobs, so associates like Johnny can build better lives for themselves and their families. Learn why it pays to work at Walmart.