Politics
Trump Files Recusal Motion to Remove Judge Juan Merchan From Stormy Daniels ‘Hush Money’ Trial Over Daughter’s Democrat-Connected Work
President Trump on Friday filed a motion requesting that the judge overseeing the Stormy Daniels ‘hush money’ case be recused because of his daughter’s political work.
The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is a far-left political operative who worked for the Biden-Harris campaign. The media has infantilized 34-year-old Loren Merchan in an effort to attack Trump’s First Amendment-protected speech.
Loren Merchan’s firm, Authentic Campaigns, Inc., has received tens of millions of dollars from Democrats who want to take down Trump.
According to The New York Post, Loren Merchan helped Democrats raise $93 million off of her father’s case.
“In 2019, Ms. Merchan made public statements during a podcast regarding a conversation with Your Honor that reflect bias against President Trump from both speakers in that exchange,” Trump’s lawyers wrote Friday, according to Fox News. “Consistent with that conversation, President Biden and Vice President Harris are long-term clients of Authentic and Ms. Merchan, along with many other politicians and entities who are actively campaigning and advocating against President Trump right now.”
“Authentic’s clients disbursed more than $18 million to the company between the return of the Indictment and the present,” Trump’s attorneys wrote. “It is industry practice that Authentic would receive percentages based on funds raised and recipient engagement, and Ms. Merchan has had an ownership stake and leadership role in the company while this case is pending.”
Fox News reported
Former President Trump and his legal team have filed a motion requesting that Judge Juan Merchan be recused from the trial on hush money allegations due to his daughter’s Democrat-affiliated political work and his alleged “hostility” against the 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Trump’s lawyers said in a 37-page motion filed Friday aftertnoon that Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, “has a direct financial interest in these proceedings by virtue of her ownership stake and leadership role at Authentic Campaigns, Inc.”
Trump’s lawyers said that company “services exclusively Democrat clients” and is the “#21 ranked vendor in the country in connection with the 2024 election.
Juan Merchan Monday night expanded Trump’s gag order and barred the former president from criticizing his family members.
Last week Judge Merchan hit Trump with a gag order.
Merchan ordered Trump to refrain from making any public statements about witnesses and jurors in the Stormy Daniels case.
Alvin Bragg accused Trump of violating the gag order when he criticized Merchan’s daughter even though she isn’t a witness or a juror.
President Trump recently said the daughter of the far-left judge who just hit him with a gag order in the Stormy Daniels ‘hush payment’ case posted a photo of him behind bars.
Trump’s lawyers also criticized Merchan’s expanded gag order which now includes Loren Merchan.
“Your Honor also recently issued and expanded a gag order that improperly restricts President Trump’s constitutionally protected campaign speech, which has the effect of shielding the Court and Ms. Merchan from legitimate public criticism based on the evidence discussed in this motion that is relevant to the 2024 election,” Trump attorneys wrote, according to Fox News.
“For the reasons described above, President Trump respectfully submits that the Court must recuse itself as a matter of constitutional due process and Judiciary Law § 14, and that recusal is also appropriate in light of appearances of impropriety,” Trump attorneys wrote.
Jury selection for the Stormy Daniels trial begins April 15.
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