Donald Trump’s legal team has once again requested New York Judge Juan Merchan to step down from any future involvement in the criminal falsification of business records and hush money case.
This time, the basis for the recusal request is the professional connection between Judge Merchan’s daughter, a political activist, and Vice President Kamala Harris, who has emerged as a new political rival to Trump.
Additionally, Trump’s attorneys have raised concerns about the continuation of a restricted gag order previously imposed by the judge that limits what the former president can publicly say about specific individuals linked to the case.
Former President Trump’s lead attorneys in the New York criminal case, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, sent a pre-motion letter to Judge Merchan on Wednesday that said, “In light of the long-standing and extremely beneficial working relationship between Your Honor’s daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently became the presumptive Presidential nominee of the Democrat Party, we respectfully submit this pre-motion letter to renew our request that the Court recuse itself.”
“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,” the letter stated.
The Times recognized that Loren Merchan, daughter of Merchan, holds a high-ranking position at a political advertising and consulting firm aligned with the Democratic party.
The firm has highlighted its collaboration with Harris, including her 2020 campaign and work with the Biden-Harris administration, as well as with other prominent Democratic leaders and leftist advocacy organizations.
The letter highlighted public examples of Loren Merchan’s evident anti-Trump bias, and the attorneys wrote, “Your Honor’s daughter is a part owner and executive at Authentic Campaigns, Inc., which (1) was the top vendor for Harris’s prior presidential campaign, based on disbursements of nearly $5 million; (2) touted its subsequent work for the Biden-Harris campaign in connection with at least the 2020 election; and (3) made tens of millions of dollars by helping other politicians disseminate political advertisements based on this case.”
The letter from Blanche and Bove also took issue with the continued gag order, which they asserted “prevents President Trump from engaging in Constitutionally protected speech by drawing attention to the obvious connection between the Biden Administration and the prosecution team.”
“No candidate for office, much less a Presidential candidate, has ever faced such an insidious prior restraint,” they observed. “As there is no threat to the integrity of the remaining proceedings from President Trump’s protected political advocacy, the bias reflected in the Court’s handling of this issue is manifest.”
As to the connections between Harris and Merchan’s daughter, the attorneys wrote, “The Court’s unjust and unconstitutional Gag Order continues to restrict President Trump’s ability to respond to Harris and address these topics with the American people.”
“Regardless of intent, decisions by Your Honor on the pending Presidential immunity motion and at any sentencing would benefit not only Harris but also the professional aspirations and financial status of Your Honor’s daughter and Authentic — all in a manner consistent with the prohibited political contributions by Your Honor that led to a caution from the Commission on Judicial Conduct,” the letter continued.
The Hill reported that Judge Merchan, who is scheduled to make a ruling on Trump’s immunity claims on September 6 and has a sentencing hearing set for September 18, was previously warned by the commission about donating $35 to President Biden’s 2020 campaign and two anti-Trump progressive groups.
Trump had unsuccessfully requested Judge Merchan to recuse himself from the case before the trial began. Criticisms from the former president about the judge’s daughter’s political activism and bias partly led to a restrictive gag order being imposed.
Despite these developments, it seems unlikely that the judge will grant Trump’s request. However, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung stated that Merchan is “a highly conflicted judge who should be immediately recused.”
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