Politics
Column: Donald Trump was just fined for contempt of court. Could he go to jail next time?
Judge Juan M. Merchan has, in his soft-spoken but hard-nosed way, told Donald Trump something no other court has over the course of his many civil and criminal cases: He’s down to his last chance.
Merchan ruled Tuesday on contempt motions brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in response to Trump’s serial violation of a gag order prohibiting public statements about witnesses, jurors and others connected to the hush money case. The judge was calm, straightforward and utterly undramatic in announcing that he had found violations in nine of the 10 instances cited by prosecutors.
It was Merchan’s written order that contained the thunder. It forcefully and convincingly rejected Trump’s arguments that the order permits him to respond to supposed political attacks or excludes reposting of others’ social media comments. (It was when Trump lawyer Todd Blanche made those arguments in court that Merchan ominously warned he was in danger of “losing all credibility.”)
Merchan really lowers the boom near the end of the written ruling, advising Trump in no uncertain terms that if he insists on forcing the judge’s hand, he is prepared to put him in jail.
“Defendant is hereby warned,” Merchan wrote, “that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.”
That’s appropriate given the limited legal tools at Merchan’s disposal.
Other courts, for example the federal court handling the Jan. 6 case, can take several intermediate steps to manage a recalcitrant defendant. And those courts have done back flips to avoid putting Trump in jail, being very aware of the political cyclone it could occasion.
But Merchan’s court is more constrained. New York law essentially gives him the option of a fine of up to $1,000 for each act of contempt or a jail term of up to 30 days.
And as Merchan wrote, “While $1,000 may suffice in most instances to protect the dignity of the judicial system, to compel respect for its mandates and to punish the offender for disobeying a court order,” it doesn’t do the trick in the case of a defendant as wealthy as Trump.
Given this dilemma, Merchan could go through several rounds of thousand-dollar fines. But he left it to Trump to decide whether to play the martyr and go to jail for political reasons.
If the former president is determined to continue on his defiant course, Merchan’s unavoidable responsibility will be to have him ushered to a jail cell, beginning perhaps with a short stay in the holding cell at the back of his court. The judge must recognize that his credibility and that of the proceedings are at risk if he lets Trump continue to thumb his nose at his orders without more serious consequences.
Merchan has already scheduled a hearing Thursday to adjudicate four additional alleged instances of contempt on Trump’s part. Don’t expect him to put Trump in custody for those: They occurred before he had issued the clear warning in Tuesday’s opinion.
But if Merchan does find those to be more willful violations of his orders, they look to be the last he will tolerate without a dramatic escalation of the penalties. The lines are drawn; Trump is almost out of chances and knows it.
The defendant may nevertheless dare Merchan, as he did another judge threatening to jail him, to “make my day.” But he had better not be bluffing, because he’s up against a judge who isn’t.
Harry Litman is the host of the “Talking Feds” podcast and the Talking San Diego speaker series. @harrylitman
Politics
Video: Minnesota and Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Deployments
new video loaded: Minnesota and Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Deployments
transcript
transcript
Minnesota and Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Deployments
Minnesota and Illinois filed federal lawsuits against the Trump administration, claiming that the deployment of immigration agents to the Minneapolis and Chicago areas violated states’ rights.
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This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota, and it must stop. We ask the courts to end the D.H.S. unlawful behavior in our state. The intimidation, the threats, the violence. We ask the courts to end the tactics on our places of worship, our schools, our courts, our marketplaces, our hospitals and even funeral homes.
By Jackeline Luna
January 12, 2026
Politics
Rep Ro Khanna demands prosecution of ICE agent in Minneapolis fatal shooting
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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called for the arrest and prosecution of the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good in a residential neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on Jan. 7.
Khanna also urged Congress to back his legislation with Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, to require ICE agents to wear body cameras, display visible identification, stop wearing masks during operations and be subject to independent oversight.
In a post shared on X, the former Obama administration official said: “I am calling for the arrest and prosecution of the ICE agent that shot and killed Renee Good.”
“I am also calling on Congress to support my bill with @JasmineForUS to force ICE agents to wear body cameras, not wear masks, have visible identification, and ensure ICE has independent oversight,” Khanna added.
MINNESOTA BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION DROPS OUT OF ICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING INVESTIGATION
An ICE agent shot and killed the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman during a federal enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. Federal officials have said agents were attempting to make arrests when the woman tried to use her vehicle as a weapon against officers, prompting an ICE agent to fire in self-defense.
Good’s death sparked widespread protests in Minneapolis and across the U.S. as demonstrators called for changes to federal immigration enforcement.
Renee Nicole Good moments before she was shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis. (Obtained by Fox News)
Local officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, criticized the federal account of the incident and rejected the claim that the officer acted in self-defense. Minnesota has since sued the Trump administration, claiming the immigration enforcement surge in the state is “unlawful” and “unprecedented.”
“What we are seeing right now is not normal immigration enforcement,” Frey said. “The scale is wildly disproportionate, and it has nothing to do with keeping people safe.”
The Trump administration pushed back sharply against the lawsuit, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accusing Minnesota leaders of undermining public safety and obstructing federal law enforcement.
MINNESOTA SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER SWEEPING IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN TWIN CITIES
Federal officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, maintained that the agent fired in self-defense.
Renee Good’s crashed car after the shooting. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Noem critisized Democrats on Sunday amid an Illinois lawmaker’s push to impeach her following the deadly shooting.
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“These law enforcement officers are trained to be in situations that are dangerous, and they rely on that training each and every day to make the right decisions,” Noem said during “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Politics
Democrat-turned-Republican Gloria Romero announces run for lieutenant governor
Gloria Romero, a former Democrat and state Senate Majority Leader, announced Monday she is running for lieutenant governor as part of a ticket with GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator.
“At the end of the day, it’s really about one-party rule in Sacramento. I’ve seen it. I left it,” Romero said in an interview. “We’ve got to make a change, otherwise we will never turn around on accountability or affordability and fight for working families like the Democrats once said the party stood for. Those days are gone. It’s a new day, and I’m proud to work alongside Steve in this exciting race to make California Golden again.”
Hilton, who has a long-standing political relationship with Romero, said her expertise in the state Capitol is among the reasons he selected her. Romero served in the state Senate and Assembly for about 12 years, including three as the state Senate’s first female majority leader.
“She’s been incredibly helpful already, helping me understand how Sacramento works and doesn’t work,” Hilton said. “When I’m the governor I will have to work with the legislature. And one of the most important things that I see as a real benefit from having Gloria there with me is that she’s not just been in the legislature, she’s led one of the chambers. She really understands how it works and still has relationships.”
Other candidates running for lieutenant governor include Treasurer Fiona Ma, former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and Josh Fryday, a member of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet, all Democrats, and state Sen. Brian Jones (R-Santee).
Romero was a lifelong Democrat, including co-chairing President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign in California. But she began to break with her party over education reform, notably her support for school choice.
“Education is the key to the American dream, and yet my party was so beholden to the teachers union, the alphabet soup of power influencers in Sacramento,” she said.
Invoking the words of the late President Reagan, Romero said she didn’t leave the Democratic party, the party left her. She became a registered Republican in September 2024 after what she calls a “political coup” to oust President Biden as the Democratic nominee. She then endorsed President Trump and spoke at a rally supporting him near Coachella.
She said the lieutenant governor’s role is typically a sleepy perch for politicians as they bide their time to run for higher office.
“It should not be that way,” Romero said, adding that the lieutenant governor’s role on the boards that oversee the UCs, Cal States and community college is a particularly good fit for her wheelhouse. “Education and turning around education, it’s in my blood, it’s in my dreams. It’s my passion.”
Unlike presidential elections, statewide contests do not feature running mates; each candidate must be elected on their own merits.
Hilton said Romero was the first member of his “golden ticket for California” and that he planned to roll out other statewide candidates who will join their effort.
“I know it hasn’t been done before. It’s not how things are normally done,” he said. “But right from the beginning, when I was thinking about my race for governor, one of the things that I really wanted to do was to put together a strong team, because turning around California is going to take a strong team.”
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