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Jimmy Williams
In a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan denied former President Donald Trump’s request for a new judge in his ongoing New York hush money criminal case.
This decision marks the third time Merchan has rejected Trump’s attempts to have him removed from the case, which stems from allegations related to hush money payments made during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump’s legal team had argued that Merchan’s impartiality was compromised due to his daughter’s work as a political consultant for prominent Democrats, including Kamala Harris during her 2020 presidential run. However, Merchan dismissed these claims, describing the request as a “rehash” filled with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated allegations.
Merchan, a state court judge in Manhattan, acknowledged that he made small donations to Democratic causes, including $15 to Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, but maintained that this did not affect his ability to preside over the case fairly. In his ruling, Merchan reiterated that decisions would be based “on the evidence and the law, without fear or favor, casting aside undue influence.”
The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, who works at the consulting firm Authentic Campaigns Inc., was confirmed to have had minimal contact with Harris and has not been involved in the 2024 election cycle. Mike Nellis, the founder of the firm, emphasized that Loren Merchan and the firm had no financial interest tied to the outcome of Trump’s trial.
Despite the ruling, Trump’s campaign has continued to criticize Merchan, labeling him a “highly-conflicted judge” and accusing him of bias against Trump. Trump has also voiced his displeasure on social media, particularly over a partial gag order that remains in place, preventing him from making public comments about the prosecution team or the judge’s family.
The case, which centers on falsified business records used to conceal a 2016 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, is one of several legal battles Trump is currently facing. While Trump has pledged to appeal the case, his lawyers have also requested that Merchan overturn the verdict or dismiss the case based on a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Merchan is expected to rule on the immunity claim by September 16, with sentencing or other proceedings scheduled for September 18.
