Former President Donald Trump recently issued a scathing rebuke of Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan for prohibiting him from attending oral argument in the Supreme Court’s case surrounding presidential immunity.
The former president argued that the Supreme Court’s case is “the most important” in years.
Trump: "We have a big case today this judge isn't allowing me to go. We have a big case today at the Supreme Court on presidential immunity. A president has to have immunity if you don't have immunity you just have a ceremonial president…" pic.twitter.com/C5go00FdGD
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 25, 2024
Merchan denied Trump’s request to attend oral arguments, demanding that the former president remain in Manhattan court throughout Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s falsified business documents case against him, according to the Post Millennial. The judge threatened Trump with arrest if he did not attend court every day of his trial.
Following Merchan’s threats, Trump accused the judge of believing he’s “above” the Supreme Court.
While speaking to Fox News, the former president said, “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.”
The High Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case concerning Trump’s motion for immunity in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against him that accuses the former president of “inciting insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021.
“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,” the former president said.
After the former president requested to attend the case at the High Court, Merchan argued to Trump’s attorney, “Arguing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, and I can certainly appreciate why your client would want to be there.”
“But a trial in New York Supreme Court is also a big deal,” Merchan, who denied Trump’s request and forced the former president to attend Manhattan court for the duration of his trial, said.
Bragg has accused the former president on 34 counts of first-degree business record fabrication.
Trump has denounced the charges against him and has referred to the case as a “communist show trial.”
“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,” the former president added.
