On Tuesday, the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money case issued a decision on whether or not he can attend his son’s high school graduation in Florida this month.
Judge Juan Merchan addressed the request made by Trump at the start of the trial proceedings early on Tuesday.
“I don’t think the May 17 date is a problem,” Merchan told the court.
However, Merchan did not clarify what will happen on May 17, which is a Friday, meaning the proceedings could continue without Trump present or pause entirely.
Barron Trump, the former president’s youngest son with former first lady Melania Trump, attends a private high school near the Mar-a-Lago estate in south Florida.
His father is currently facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and is on day 10 of his Manhattan trial.
Barron’s graduation was one of several issues addressed by Judge Merchan on Tuesday, as he also ordered Trump to pay $9,000 in fines for violating a gag order that bans him from speaking publicly about witnesses and family members of court officials.
The judge noted that there were nine such occasions where he violated the gag order and even threatened to put Trump in jail if he refused to remove them by Tuesday afternoon.
The former president complied with the order and avoided being thrown behind bars.
Ahead of Tuesday’s court proceedings, Trump lashed out at Merchan.
“This is a hoax. This is a judge who is conflicted. Badly, badly, badly conflicted. I’ve never seen a judge so conflicted and giving us virtually no rulings,” Trump said to reporters before entering the courtroom.
He continued, saying that the trial was affecting his ability to campaign for the presidency.
“I’m going to sit in the freezing cold icebox for 8 hours, 9 hours or so. They took me off the campaign trail. But the good news is my poll numbers are the highest it’s ever been. So at least we’re getting the word out,” Trump said. “And everybody knows this trial is a scam. It’s a scam. The judge should be recused, that he should recuse himself today, he should recuse himself today. And maybe he will.”