It has been noted that in the first hours of President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on Monday, April 15, former first son Barron Trump became an unexpected topic of conversation via People.
Ahead of inviting potential jurors into the courtroom to kick off the jury selection process, Judge Juan Merchan hashed out some final pieces of business with the involved parties. He discussed the former president’s gag orders, going over evidence that will not be admissible in court and emphasizing that there is no basis for recusing himself from the case, as Trump previously requested in an apparent delay tactic.
Trump’s counsel asked the judge to adjourn court on a few specific dates so that they could attend other events, including a Supreme Court hearing this month and Barron’s high school graduation in May.
However, Merchan quickly declined to adjourn for the Supreme Court hearing and noted that Trump’s first priority should be attending his trial and put the question of Barron’s graduation down the line. He said that he has no issue with the nature of the request but needs to see how the trial unfolds before making a decision.
“Regarding counsel’s request that the court adjourn on Friday, May 17th for Mr. Trump to attend his son’s high school graduation and Friday, June 3rd to allow a member of the defense team to attend their son’s graduation, I cannot rule on those two requests at this time,” Merchan said.
“It really depends on how we are doing on time and where we are in the trial,” he continued. “If everything is going according to schedule without unnecessary delays, then I am sure we will be able to adjourn for one or both of those days, but if we are running behind schedule, we will not be able to.”
Barron, who turned 18 in March, has been attending a private academy in Florida and is reportedly considering his post-graduation options with the help of his mom, former first lady Melania Trump.
