Former President Donald Trump has once again requested the recusal of Judge Juan Merchan from his criminal hush money case.
Trump's defense argues that Judge Merchan should be recused due to a conflict of interest involving the judge's daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to ABC News, this marks the third attempt by Trump’s legal team to have the judge removed. They cite an alleged conflict of interest involving the judge's daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump's defense contends that Judge Merchan's impartiality is compromised due to his daughter's professional relationship with Harris.
Trump’s request follows Kamala Harris becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee. Defense attorneys assert that the judge’s daughter has worked for Harris' political campaigns and, therefore, stands to benefit professionally and personally from this relationship. This perceived conflict of interest is at the heart of the defense's argument for recusal.
Trump’s defense lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, have emphasized the alleged conflict in a court filing made public. In their arguments, they claim that the judge's daughter has a long-standing and beneficial relationship with Harris, which they believe could affect Judge Merchan’s impartiality. They argue that the judge’s daughter’s involvement with Harris' campaigns and potential future benefits from this relationship are grounds for recusal.
This is not the first time Trump’s legal team has sought to have Judge Merchan removed from the case. Previous attempts were dismissed by Judge Merchan, who described the motions as speculative and unsupported. New York's Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics had also determined that Judge Merchan's impartiality could not reasonably be questioned based on his daughter's professional work.
Despite the Advisory Committee’s determination, Trump’s defense team is reviving their efforts, pointing to the recent political developments involving Harris. The defense’s renewed motion follows Kamala Harris’s rise as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, which they argue exacerbates the conflict of interest. They believe that the judge’s daughter’s relationship with Harris is now more significant, given Harris's political prominence.
Judge Merchan’s previous dismissal of the recusal motion described the defense’s arguments as a series of inferences and unsupported speculation. The judge maintained that his daughter’s professional activities do not reflect on his ability to remain impartial in the case. However, Trump’s legal team continues to press the issue, undeterred by previous setbacks.
In addition to seeking the judge’s recusal, Trump’s lawyers are also pushing for the dismissal of the case based on a recent Supreme Court ruling. The ruling provides presumptive immunity for official acts taken by a president while in office. Trump's defense argues that introducing evidence related to official acts during the trial violated this immunity and warrants the case’s dismissal.
Prosecutors, however, counter that Trump’s conduct was entirely personal and unrelated to his presidential duties. They argue that the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels was not an official act and, therefore, not protected by presidential immunity. The debate over the scope of presidential immunity is central to the defense’s strategy in seeking to overturn Trump’s conviction.
Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The payment was allegedly made to boost Trump’s electoral prospects during the 2016 presidential election. The conviction has been a significant legal setback for the former president.
Judge Merchan postponed Trump's sentencing from July 11 to September 18 to consider the defense’s request to dismiss the conviction based on the Supreme Court's ruling. This delay has added another layer of complexity to the ongoing legal battle. The defense’s arguments for recusal and dismissal are now intertwined with the broader legal and political implications of the case.
Former President Donald Trump has requested that Judge Juan Merchan be recused for the third time from his criminal hush money case, citing a conflict of interest involving the judge's daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris. The defense argues that the judge’s impartiality is compromised due to his daughter's professional relationship with Harris. Despite previous rejections of similar motions, Trump’s legal team continues to push for recusal and dismissal of the case.
