For the third time, a New York judge refused to recuse herself from the case in which Donald Trump was found guilty of paying hush money to a porn star.
For the third time, a New York judge rejected to recuse herself from the case in which Donald Trump was found guilty of paying hush money to a porn star. The court rejected the former president of the United States’ argument that there was a conflict of interest since the judge’s daughter worked as a political consultant.
In a ruling made public on Wednesday, Justice Juan Merchan rejected a plea by Trump’s legal team for him to step down from the first case involving criminal accusations against a former US president, just as he did in April and August of 2023. On September 18, Merchan is set to sentence Trump.
“The defendant has not offered the court anything fresh to examine. In the verdict dated August 13, Merchan wrote that counsel had “merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts” and that the arguments were “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to respond through a spokesman.
A statement from Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, stated, “The Highly Conflicted Judge should have long ago recused himself from this case.”
In order to prevent a sex scandal before the 2016 U.S. election, Trump paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000, a payment that was concealed from her by former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. On May 30, a jury convicted Trump guilty on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records.
Two months later, Merchan’s attorneys filed their third request for Merchan to resign, claiming that his daughter’s employment for a political consulting firm that has represented Democratic campaigns, including Kamala Harris’s failed 2020 Democratic presidential nomination bid, created a conflict of interest.
In the U.S. presidential election scheduled for November 5, Harris—who is now vice president—will compete against Trump, the Republican contender.
Although there is a maximum four-year jail term for falsifying corporate documents, punishments like fines or probation have been more frequently imposed for similar crimes.
The accusations were brought by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors, who referred to Trump’s request for a recusal as a “frivolous” attempt to relitigate a case that had already been settled twice.
Prosecutors stated in a court document dated August 1 that “no amount of overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric can cure the fatal defects in defendant’s ongoing effort to impugn the fairness of these proceedings.”
Daniels received the money in return for her quiet over a ten-year-old alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump—an event that Trump refuted—prior to the 2016 election. Trump went on to overcome Democrat Hillary Clinton to win the president.
Prior to the trial’s jury selection in April, Merchan turned down a request for a recusal last year, following an ethics panel’s conclusion that his daughter’s work did not raise legitimate concerns about the judge’s objectivity.
Trump mocked Merchan on social media throughout the trial, calling her a “highly conflicted” administrator of a “kangaroo court.” Prior to the trial, Trump stated on social media that Merchan’s daughter “makes money by working to ‘Get Trump,'” remarks that partly influenced Merchan’s choice to increase the gag order, which prevents the former president from making public remarks about the relatives of prosecutors or court employees.
In light of the July judgment by the U.S. Supreme Court that grants past presidents wide protection from prosecution for official acts performed while in office, Trump’s attorneys have separately asked the judge to overturn his conviction. By September 16, Merchan promises to make a decision about Trump’s points.
