Trump in New York for the hush money trial while SC hears his immunity case

New York: A reluctant Donald Trump returned to a New York City courtroom on Thursday as his hush money trial resumed at the same time that the US Supreme Court hears arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took during his time as president.

Jurors will hear more witness testimony from a longtime tabloid publisher, and Trump faces a looming decision over whether he violated a gag order imposed by the judge. But he had asked to skip out on his criminal trial for the day so he could sit in on the high court’s special session, where the justices will weigh whether he can be prosecuted over his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

“I think the Supreme Court has a very important argument before it today,” Trump said has he walked into his trial. “I should be there.” His request was denied by New York state Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial on the hush money scheme that was allegedly meant to prevent harmful stories about Trump from surfacing in the final days of the 2016 campaign. “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 told Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche last week when he nixed the idea.

Though 200 miles (320 kilometers) apart — and entirely separate cases — the proceedings Thursday were jumbled together in one big legal and political puzzle.