The New York criminal trial involving an alleged hush money scheme to quell negative stories about former President Donald Trump before the 2016 presidential election ended early on April 22 so an alternate juror could see a dentist, according to news reports.
The trial over Trump's alleged $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ended early following opening statements to allow the juror to attend an emergency dental appointment on the afternoon of April 22. Judge Juan Merchan reportedly allowed the juror to keep the appointment so the person could be retained for the historic trial, according to reports.
Former president Donald Trump pictured speaking at a campaign event in Arizona in 2016. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
The judge has said he will work with jurors' schedules to keep the trial moving forward. Meanwhile, Trump must be present at the trial every day due to his status as a criminal defendant.
This means Trump will have to miss the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity argument on April 25. The U.S. High Court will hear oral arguments related to Trump's attempt to toss U.S. criminal charges he faces for trying to steal the 2020 presidential election. The court's decision will determine whether Trump faces trial related to these offenses before the upcoming presidential election.
As his hush money trial continues, it is unclear whether Merchan will permit Trump from attending the graduation of his youngest son, Barron. The 18-year-old is scheduled to graduate on May 17 from Oxbridge Academy, a private preparatory school in Palm Beach, FL.
At the start of the trial, Merchan said he would decide on whether Trump can attend the high school graduation after he sees how the proceeding progresses, according to reports.
On April 23, the trial related to Stormy Daniels was set to resume after a gag order hearing concluded. The hearing is being held to determine whether posts attacking people associated with the trial that were made on Trump's social media accounts violated a gag order.
