Judge Refuses to Step Aside in Trump Hush Money Case
Trump had argued that Judge Juan Merchan was irreparably biased given his daughter’s work for a digital marketing agency that works often with Democratic candidates.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
A New York state judge on Monday declined to step aside after former President Donald Trump demanded his recusal in case centered around Trump’s alleged hush-money payments to a former adult film star prior to the 2016 election. “[Trump] has failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate,” New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan wrote. “The speculative and hypothetical scenarios offered by Defendant fall well short of the legal standard.” Trump had argued that, among other reasons, Merchan was irreparably biased given his daughter’s work for a digital marketing agency that often works with Democratic electoral candidates. Trump is facing charges of falsifying business records in relation to the payments to Stormy Daniels.