World News | Donald Trump’s lawyer asks judge to drop out of criminal case, echoing claims of political bias

NEW YORK, June 3 (AP) In the hours after his historic arraignment this spring, Donald Trump focused his anger on the judge, complaining that he was a man full of “Trump haters.” “The Judge Who Hates Trump.”

Lawyers for the former president doubled down on that criticism on Friday, asking Judge Juan Manuel Mercan to set aside his criminal case in New York City for what they say is anti-Trump bias and because his daughter works for some companies A conflict of interest will arise. Trump’s Democratic opponent.

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Trump’s lawyers claim that Manhattan Criminal Court’s respected jurist Merchant was involved in negotiating a guilty plea to Trump’s longtime treasurer in two other Trump-related cases and has asked him to testify against the Trump’s company in exchange for a five-month prison sentence.

Trump’s attorneys, Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche, also asked Merk Money to explain donations totaling $45 to Democratic causes in his name during the 2020 election cycle three political donations.

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In the New York case, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The allegations relate to hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign to cover up allegations that Trump had extramarital sex. He denies wrongdoing.

Melchine did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press asking him to confirm or deny whether he was a contributor, including a $15 contribution to President Joe Biden’s campaign against Trump, according to federal campaign finance records. Court rules generally prohibit such contributions.

The former president’s criminal case is “historic, and it is important that the people of New York State and this country trust the jurists presiding over this case to be impartial,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the so-called reckoning motion.

The decision on whether to recuse is up to Mercan himself, and judges rarely walk out of cases on such requests. If Trump is convicted, his lawyers may also raise the issue in an appeal. Along with their motion, Trump’s lawyers submitted 42 pages of evidence proving Merchang’s political bias.

The hush money case is continuing in state court while Trump’s lawyers try to move it to federal court, which would also remove Mercan from the judicial equation. A federal judge has scheduled a June 27 hearing on the request.

Merchan left a message seeking comment. Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the New York state court system, said that because the case is pending before a judge, “it would be inappropriate to make any further comments.”

Merchamp has shown respect and extreme accommodation in his limited interactions with Trump and has refused to issue a gag order even as the former president continued to mock him, as did District Attorney Alvin Bragg and others involved in the case. At a recent hearing, Merchan said he was doing “everything possible” to ensure that he would not limit Trump’s “every possible opportunity to advance his candidacy.”

Trump’s recusal amplified criticism of Mercan and his family in his statement and on his Truth Social platform.

Merchan’s daughter, Loren, is a political consultant whose firm has campaigned for high-profile Democrats including Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and California Gov. Gavin Newsom .

Trump, the leading contender for the 2024 Republican nomination, could face Biden again as he seeks to return to the White House. He and his allies have used Mershant’s political connections to paint his indictment as part of a “witch hunt” led by Democrats.

“I have a judge who hates Trump and a wife and family who hate Trump, whose daughter works for Kamala Harris,” Trump said in a speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He said hours after his arraignment on April 4.

Among Trump’s other criticisms, he claimed that Mercan “forced” a guilty plea from former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg last summer and acted “viciously” in presiding over the company’s trial, which ended on December 12. The month ended with a tax fraud conviction.

Mercan was heavily involved in the negotiations, leading to Weisselberg’s petition accusing him of tax evasion on perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars. After hearing Weisselberg’s testimony, Mercan said he wished he had dealt with harsher penalties, especially when he spoke about how his wife was paid $6,000 to qualify for Social Security benefits for a job that didn’t show up. Her husband made a lot of money.

The cases are a prelude to Trump’s historic indictment.

According to the court system, Trump’s case ends up in Merchant Court, as the judges take turns overseeing the grand jury in any case that arises from them. McCann also regularly handles financial cases and manages Manhattan’s mental health court, where some defendants have the opportunity to resolve their cases with therapy and supervision.

Melchan, 60, immigrated from Colombia at age 6 and grew up in New York City. The first in his family to attend college, he worked his way through it, earning a law degree from Hofstra University in 1994.

He was a Manhattan prosecutor who worked for the state attorney general’s office before then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him as a family court judge in 2006. Three years later, Merchant was assigned to the trial court, known in New York as the Supreme Court. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)