New York City Judge Juan Merchan has ruled that Former President Donald Trump must stay in court for the entirety of his high-profile “hush money” case, with no exceptions. This decision will block Trump from the campaign trail, his son Barron’s graduation, and most notably, a far more important Supreme Court case regarding presidential immunity.
The case in New York alleges that Trump and his team incorrectly handled payments to two women Trump purportedly had extramarital relations with and that his team worked to prevent smear campaigns against him during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump requested to be excused from the proceedings for two days during the trial, one day to be present at his Supreme Court case, and one day for his son’s graduation.
“Arguing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, and I can certainly appreciate why your client would want to be there,” Merchan reportedly told Trump’s lawyer in response, “But a trial in New York Supreme Court is also a big deal,”
The judge has given no response to Trump’s request to attend his son’s graduation, so he’ll likely have to stay in court on that day, too.
“Because he thinks he is above the Supreme Court, he is prohibiting me from going to the presidential immunity hearing where some of the great legal scholars will be arguing the case—the most important case in many years on the Supreme Court,” Trump told Fox News.
“Without presidential immunity, the presidency becomes a ceremonial position only, it will be decimated. He’s prohibiting me from going. He is a radical left Democrat,” said Trump.
The arguments Trump wanted to be present for will have lasting legal ramifications for America’s government.
The Supreme Court will address the historic question of Presidential Immunity on Thursday, but unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. The Highly Conflicted Judge in the Manhattan D.A. “case” (Soros-backed Alvin Bragg) has prohibited me from attending. Without Presidential…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 22, 2024
The New York case, on the other hand, isn’t likely to make much of an impact, besides catapulting Trump back into the news and off the campaign trail.
“Virtually every legal scholar and expert in the country said that this case should not have been brought, that there was no crime, that everything was done properly and that this is a case that should be dropped immediately,” Trump pointed out on Truth Social.
The court system is complex and full of conflict, but one would likely assume that the proceedings of the Supreme Court take precedence over other cases. Merchan, however, thinks the world revolves around him.
