...
By Jenni Fink
Senior Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is encouraging Judge Juan Merchan to deny Donald Trump's recusal request because of "fatal defects" in the former president's legal argument.
On Wednesday, Trump asked Merchan to recuse himself because of his daughter's work with Democratic candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris. It was the third time Trump has tried to get Merchan to recuse himself, but he argues this time it's different because Harris is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. If Merchan denies Trump's request, the former president will be sentenced September 18.
In a letter to Merchan, Bragg called Trump's latest court filing "vexatious and frivolous." Bragg reminded Merchan that the judge has already ruled on Trump's claims and found that Trump's legal team did not establish a clear "right to recusal."
Read More on U.S.
"No amount of overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric can cure the fatal defects in defendant's ongoing effort to impugn the fairness of these proceedings and the impartiality of this court," Bragg wrote.
...
Trump's efforts to get Merchan's recusal come in the wake of his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made during the 2016 presidential campaign. The payments were intended to silence allegations of a sexual encounter with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump's legal team is now seeking to overturn the verdict, citing alleged judicial bias and a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
Trump's latest recusal motion, filed earlier this week, claims that Merchan's impartiality is compromised because his daughter works as a consultant for Democratic campaigns, including the vice president's. Bragg's office argues that it is an attempt to relitigate issues already settled by the court.
Merchan previously asserted that his impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned based on his daughter's professional activities. He has cited guidance from a state judicial ethics advisory committee in his decision to remain on the case.
"There is no agenda here," Merchan said on the first day of jury selection.
Critics of Trump's recusal efforts argue that the motions are part of a broader strategy to undermine the judicial process. Trump's supporters, however, contend that the judge's familial connections to prominent Democrats raise legitimate concerns about bias.
Merchan's family members came under so much scrutiny from Trump that the judge imposed a gag order to stop the former president from attacking them. Trump violated the gag order 10 times and was forced to pay $10,000 in fines.
Trump's lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, wrote in a letter to the judge that the gag order is restricting Trump's ability to respond to Harris' attacks during the campaign.
"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," the lawyers wrote.
Bragg wrote in his own letter that Trump hasn't identified any "new facts or changes" that warrant a ruling that is different from the previous ones.
Merchan is expected to rule on Trump's bid to toss out his conviction on September 6. If he dismisses that motion, the judge is expected to sentence him on September 18. While Trump faces up to four years in jail, it's possible he could avoid jail time.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines