Judge Engoron clears courtroom except for Donald Trump and his lawyers

This morning Donald Trump made a social media post attacking Arthur Engoron’s clerk, prompting the judge to emphatically issue a near-immediate gag order against any further mention of anyone on his staff. Engoron also ordered Trump to remove the post in question, which Trump did. But now, at the end of the day, the judge has cleared the courtroom except for Trump, his attorneys, and NY AG Letitia James.

No one in the media seems to have any idea what went on during that private moment with the judge, given that the media was also removed from the courtroom. But it’s not difficult to guess that this was likely related to Trump’s social media post and the gag order that the judge issued.

This serves as a good reminder that in this trial – and in his upcoming criminal trials – Donald Trump is not the most powerful person in the room. He’s actually the least powerful person in the room. There’s a judge in the room who has the power to throw Trump in a cell at any time. Just this morning that judge laid out the parameters under which Trump will be thrown in a cell. And you can bet that once the courtroom was cleared, Trump sat there and cowered while the judge said whatever he had to say.