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Jimmy Williams
In the latest development surrounding former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial, his legal team is once again seeking to have Judge Juan Merchan removed from the case.
This move comes as they raise concerns about potential bias stemming from the judge’s daughter’s involvement with a political firm and recent restrictions placed on Trump’s speech.
Trump’s lawyers penned a letter to Judge Merchan, highlighting the employment of the judge’s daughter at Authentic Campaigns, a political firm that had ties to President Joe Biden’s campaign. The letter, made public on Tuesday, expressed worries about the judge’s impartiality, citing social media posts by Authentic Campaigns promoting connections to the Biden administration while criticizing Trump. Trump’s attorneys argued that this presents an “unacceptable risk” of bias influencing the judge’s decisions.
According to the letter, Merchan’s alleged extrajudicial comments on the case and his use of the Office of Court Administration to issue a statement related to an X account linked to his daughter were also cited as reasons for concern. Trump’s legal team requested permission to file a motion supporting their arguments, which includes additional evidence, by Wednesday.
In response to the letter, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office emphasized that Trump had not provided any new evidence warranting a reconsideration of Merchan’s earlier decision to deny recusal. They argued that there was no indication that the judge’s family ties would impact the fairness of the trial.
“There is simply nothing new here that would alter this Court’s prior conclusion that nothing about this proceeding will directly benefit Authentic or this Court’s family member, let alone this Court,” the DA’s office stated.
This latest attempt to have Merchan removed from the case follows a previous motion filed by Trump’s lawyers last year, citing conflicts related to the judge’s daughter’s employment. However, Merchan had declined to recuse himself at that time, affirming his commitment to impartiality after consulting with judicial ethics advisors.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign, is scheduled to stand trial starting April 15.
