Trump’s hush money judge refuses third recusal request 

The New York judge who oversaw former President Trump’s criminal trial declined the former president’s latest request to recuse himself from the case over the judge’s daughter’s work for Democrats. 

It marks the third time that Judge Juan Merchan has refused to recuse himself, again insisting there is no conflict and that he will remain on the case as it proceeds to sentencing in September. 

“Stated plainly, Defendant’s arguments are nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims,” Merchan wrote in his ruling.

Like Trump’s other judges and prosecutors whom he perceives as foes, Merchan has drawn the ire of the former president in repeated attacks on social media and elsewhere. 

Trump’s legal team has latched onto how Merchan’s daughter, Loren, is an executive at Authentic, a progressive digital agency. She has worked for Democratic clients, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, whom Trump is running against in the 2024 election.

In a letter posted to social platform X on Tuesday, Authentic’s founder said that Harris’s current presidential campaign is not a client and that the judge’s daughter has “minimal input or contact with any political clients.”

After Merchan twice rejected recusal motions prior to Trump’s blockbuster trial this spring, his attorneys in recent days mounted a third effort once Biden stepped aside from running for reelection and Harris emerged as Democrats’ presidential nominee.  

“Your Honor’s daughter has a long-standing relationship with Harris, including work for political campaigns. She has obtained — and stands to obtain in the future — extensive financial, professional, and personal benefits from her relationship with Harris,” Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote in their request. 

But the judge spurned the accusation that he has a conflict, noting that a state ethics advisory committee last year provided guidance that he didn’t need to step aside.  

“This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear — innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create. Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required,” Merchan wrote.

Reacting to the ruling, Trump again complained about his gag order that prevents him from attacking the judge’s daughter, among other people.

“This is the real Fascist ‘stuff,’ the old Soviet Union!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The judge has received a warning for making $35 total in political contributions to the Biden campaign and two liberal-leaning groups, including one called “Stop Republicans.” Though the donations occurred before Merchan took on Trump’s hush money case, ethics rules bar New York judges from making political contributions. 

“The acting Justice has consistently and recklessly displayed his personal bias against President Trump throughout the case, including issuing an illegal, unconstitutional, and election-interfering Gag Order against the President and his campaign, and admitting
constitutionally prohibited ‘evidence’ at trial,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. “The Highly-Conflicted Judge should have long ago recused himself from this case.”

Merchan oversaw Trump’s trial this spring that culminated in a jury finding him guilty on all 34 counts.  

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office accused Trump of lying in New York business records to conceal damaging information from voters during his successful 2016 campaign. The case revolved around payments Trump made to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, who had paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 just before that year’s election to stay quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. Trump denies any affair. 

Bragg’s office has pushed back on Trump’s recusal attempts, calling the latest one “vexatious and frivolous.” 

“Defendant identifies no new facts or changes in the law that warrant a different outcome,” prosecutors wrote in court filings. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 18, unless Merchan tosses the verdict due to the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision. A ruling is expected just prior to sentencing, and Trump has vowed to appeal if the case moves forward.

Updated at 11:47 a.m.