Donald Trump’s supporters and relatives are criticizing Judge Juan Merchan of New York City for emphasizing to his father the requirement of appearing in court daily as per New York law.
Donald Trump Jr. expressed his strong disapproval on X, labeling it as “pure evil.” Trump Jr.’s statement was in response to the speculation surrounding former President Trump’s potential inability to avoid court on May 17 in order to attend his youngest son Barron’s high school graduation.
As per MSNBC’s Katie Phang, Judge Merchan stated that he was unable to make a decision on the matter “at this time,” but assured that he would take it into consideration.
Eric Trump also chimed in, saying: “Judge Merchan is truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation.”
Brad Heath, a crime reporter for Reuters, stated, “It is common for individuals accused of crimes to miss important life events such as children’s births, graduations, and funerals due to being on trial or detained awaiting trial.” Alina Habba, the civil court trial lawyer for Donald Trump, also expressed concerns regarding jury selection.
“You’re not allowed to ask who they voted for,” Habba said. “You’re shot in the foot right there.”
Merchan is authorizing a variety of questions regarding political perspectives, including inquiries about any affiliations or financial contributions to groups, with specific mention of QAnon and Antifa. Habba then argued that Trump was facing unfair circumstances as he campaigned in a predominantly Democratic state, suggesting that this would significantly facilitate the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in forming a jury that would probably convict Trump.
“They’re going to try to get the best jury pool they can,” Habba warned.
“What is troubling in this case is that when we (she is not on this case) are doing jury selection starting today, one of the things that the judge here, Judge Merchan, would not allow us to ask was whether or not they voted Republican or Democrat, whether or not they voted for President Trump,” Habba argued.
“This judge has eliminated many of those questions. You’re not allowed to ask who they voted for (you never are), you can ask what news they watch but I watch CNN and I watch Fox because I like to know what my opposition is saying … So when you are sitting with a president and current nominee for the GOP and you can’t ask how you vote, you’re shot in the foot right there. That hindrance is an of itself is problematic right from the get-go,” she added.