Former President Donald Trump is making headlines once again in his New York hush money criminal trial as his legal team officially requested the judge, Juan Merchan, recuse himself. The request is based on the fact that Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is an executive at Authentic Campaigns, Inc., a marketing firm that works with Democratic candidates. Trump’s team argued that this presents a conflict of interest and an appearance of impropriety in the case.
In the filing, Trump’s team pointed out that Authentic Campaigns works with politicians and entities that actively campaign against him, which means Merchan’s daughter has a financial stake in the trial. They argued that profiting from the promotion of a political agenda that is hostile to Trump, including fundraising solicitations related to the case, warrants recusal. This is the second time Trump has requested Merchan recuse himself, with the first request being made last June.
Judge Merchan rejected the first request for recusal, stating that Trump’s team failed to demonstrate concrete reasons for recusal and that the court is certain in its ability to be fair and impartial. Trump’s latest filing comes after Merchan expanded a gag order against the former president, preventing him from publicly commenting on family members of the court. Trump had previously lashed out against Merchan and his daughter, calling her a “Rabid Trump Hater” and accusing the judge of suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
In addition to the recusal request, Trump was also blocked from subpoenaing documents from NBC related to the release date of a Stormy Daniels documentary and any payments she received for participating in the project. Merchan deemed the subpoena a “fishing expedition.” The charges against Trump include 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments made in 2017 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors allege that Trump misidentified the payments as legal fees to his former attorney, Michael Cohen, when they were actually repayments to Cohen for the hush money payments.
Despite the charges, Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts and has continued to attack Merchan and his daughter in recent weeks. Trump’s legal battles continue as he fights to clear his name in the hush money criminal trial in New York. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
