Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday joined the chorus of critics falsely claiming the New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial won’t let the former president attend his son’s graduation, insisting Juan Merchan is “not a judge in the tradition of Anglo-American jurists.”
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Giuliani slammed Merchan after Trump claimed the judge would not allow him to attend Barron Trump’s high school graduation in May.
“By refusing to allow Donald J. Trump to attend his son Barron’s graduation—something even guilty defendants would be allowed to do—he goes beyond the usual NYC judge selected by Democrat county bosses and is now making entirely political decisions,” Giuliani wrote.
A spokesperson for Giuliani insisted that any implication that the former mayor’s “Anglo-American” remark about the Colombian-born judge is racist is “an absurd attempt to smear the mayor.”
“He is obviously referring to Anglo-American common law, which refers to a type of law based on court decisions instead of written laws (EI: statutes),” Ted Goodman told The Daily Beast. “It’s based on the English legal system and is used in many countries, including the United States. The mayor worked for the Columbian government for five years and has received numerous awards from Columbian leaders.”
On Monday, Merchan ruled that Trump would not be excused from his criminal trial to attend Supreme Court arguments—but did not rule on whether he would have to miss the graduation in West Palm Beach. “It really depends on how we’re doing on time and where we are in the trial,” Merchan reportedly said in court Monday about the request, later adding that “if the trial proceeds as planned, he’s willing to adjourn” early that day.
The possible prohibition immediately spurred outrage online from Trump supporters, other conservatives, and his two other sons. In his tweet, Giuliani claimed that “Judge Merchan and his family have displayed a sick obsessive, hatred” for Trump, which “explains his consistently unfair, unconstitutional and illegal decisions.”
“He is just proving that the NYC so-called court system is part of a one-party political dictatorship. It is a disgrace and embarrassment to all New Yorkers and all fair minded Americans,” Giuliani added. “It should be thoroughly investigated (excluding members of the complicit bar association) and completely reformed. (Remember what the Knapp Commission did for the NYPD).”