Judge rejects Trump’s request to remove him from former porn actress case

2024-08-18 17:58:28

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks to speak to the press after he was convicted in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. – A panel of 12 New Yorkers were unanimous in their determination that Donald Trump is guilty as charged — but for the impact on his election prospects, the jury is still out. The Republican billionaire was convicted of all 34 charges in New York on May 30, 2024, and now finds himself bidding for a second presidential term unsure if he’ll be spending 2025 in the Oval Office, on probation or in jail. (Photo by Steven Hirsch / POOL / AFP)

Donald Trump failed again on Wednesday, for the third time, in his attempt to remove the judge who is to announce his sentence for covering up the payment of money to buy the silence of a former porn actress.

Lawyers for the Republican presidential candidate have again argued that the daughter of Colombian-born judge Juan Merchan’s work for a Democratic-leaning organization creates a “conflict of interest” and that she should recuse herself.

A jury convicted the former president in May of 34 counts of covering up hush money payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels over an alleged extramarital affair.

On Sept. 16, the judge will consider a separate motion by Trump’s lawyers to vacate the verdict and dismiss the case under the Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity.

Depending on the outcome of that hearing, Merchan has scheduled Trump’s sentencing announcement for Sept. 18.

The judge flatly rejected Trump’s latest attempt to have him removed from the case.

“Simply put, Defendant’s arguments amount to nothing more than a rehash of stale and unsubstantiated assertions,” Merchan wrote in the ruling.

“Defense counsel’s reliance on, and apparent citation of, his own prior statement, riddled with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated assertions, is fruitless. As such, defendant’s motion is again denied,” the brief reads.

Previously, a New York state ethics panel had found no problem with Merchan continuing to handle the case, and the judge said the “court will continue to base its decisions on the evidence and the law, without fear or favor, and without undue influence.”

Despite the ethics ruling, Trump’s legal team insisted that the work done by Merchan’s daughter — which they say included past fundraising efforts for Trump’s November election rival, Vice President Kamala Harris — undermined the judge’s independence.

In a tirade on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Merchan’s order limiting his ability to attack the judge’s family members “voter suppression and manipulation.”

Trump, the first former US president to be convicted, has been doing everything he can to overturn the New York ruling and delay other pending trials until after the November election.

The Republican billionaire faces charges in Washington and Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

© Agence France-Presse