Hush money judge allows Trump to attend son’s graduation

Former President Trump will be allowed to attend his son’s graduation ceremony next month, the judge overseeing his New York hush money trial said Tuesday.

Judge Juan Merchan said the former president will be able to attend the upcoming high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron Trump, on May 17. Merchan had delayed his decision earlier this month on whether Trump would be able to attend the graduation.

Trump had previously railed against Merchan for delaying the decision, slamming the judge for potentially barring him from attending the event. Under New York state law, Trump is required to attend the entirety of his trial unless he gets special permission from the judge to skip.

“I was looking forward to that graduation with his mother and father there,” Trump told reporters at the time. “It looks like the judge isn’t going to allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam trial.”

Other Republicans and Trump allies also criticized Merchan after he delayed the decision. Another of Trump’s sons, Eric Trump, said earlier this month that the judge “is truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation.”

The graduation of his son is not the only day Trump requested to take off from the trial. Merchan ruled that Trump could not attend the Supreme Court oral arguments in his presidential immunity case that took place last week, saying the former president is required to attend his hush money trial, unlike the high court proceedings.

While Trump is stuck in the Manhattan courtroom for the trial, other lawyers for him have been tackling his other legal battles. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has also blasted the hush money trial for keeping him off the campaign trail for most of the next several weeks, saying it is politically motivated.