In an ongoing legal battle, Donald Trump’s lawyers are once again attempting to have Judge Juan Merchan removed from the New York hush money trial. They argue that Judge Merchan’s daughter, who works for a political firm that supported Joe Biden’s campaign, could influence his decisions. Trump’s attorneys also claim that a recent gag order imposed on Trump is impacting his ability to engage in protected campaign speech. The letter to Merchan requests permission to file a motion with evidence in support of their arguments.
Merchan recently expanded a partial gag order after Trump criticized his daughter on social media, leading Trump’s attorneys to argue that the order restricts his ability to engage in campaign speech. Prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office responded that there have been no significant changes to warrant revisiting Merchan’s earlier denial of Trump’s motion seeking his recusal. The DA’s office stated that there is nothing new that would suggest the trial proceedings would directly benefit Merchan’s family member or Authentic Campaigns, the political firm his daughter works for.
Trump’s attorneys previously filed a motion last year seeking Merchan’s recusal due to conflicts of interest, including his daughter’s employment at Authentic Campaigns during the 2020 election cycle. Despite these concerns, Merchan refused to recuse himself and noted that he had consulted with a Judicial Ethics committee and is confident in his ability to be fair and impartial in the case. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The trial is set to begin on April 15.
The letter from Trump’s attorneys to Merchan highlights the potential influence of Merchan’s daughter’s employment with Authentic Campaigns, a firm that worked with Democratic groups, including Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. They also claim that Merchan made extrajudicial comments about the case and used the Office of Court Administration to issue a statement related to a social media account associated with his daughter. The letter requests permission to file a motion with supporting evidence to further argue for Merchan’s recusal from the trial.
The battle over Merchan’s involvement in the hush money trial continues as Trump’s attorneys raise concerns about the judge’s impartiality due to his daughter’s political work. The expanded gag order imposed on Trump following his comments about Merchan’s daughter has further escalated tensions in the case. Prosecutors maintain that there have been no significant changes to warrant reconsidering Merchan’s previous decision to deny Trump’s request for recusal. The ongoing legal drama sets the stage for a contentious trial that is set to begin on April 15.
