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By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
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Judge Juan Merchan has rejected former President Donald Trump's third bid to kick him off the criminal hush money payments case, dismissing the former president's arguments as "stale and unsubstantiated claims."
"Stated plainly, Defendant's arguments are nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims," Merchan wrote in an August 13 ruling.
This marks the third time that Merchan has declined to recuse himself from the case. He also dismissed Trump's efforts to get a new judge in August 2023 and April 2024.
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Tuesday's ruling also means Trump's sentencing hearing will go on as planned on September 18. He became the first convicted former president in May after a Manhattan jury found him guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case revolved around a $130,000 payment that Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, paid adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Trump ahead of the 2016 election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction.
Trump's lawyers argued that Merchan should step aside because his daughter's political consulting work for Democratic campaigns presented a conflict of interest for the judge.
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The defense claimed that Merchan's rulings and decisions "may result in a financial benefit" to his family and pointed to his daughter's portfolio of work, which includes Kamala Harris's unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign. Harris is now running against Trump the Democratic nominee for president.
But Merchan shut down those allegations again on Tuesday, writing, "This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear - innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create."
"Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required," he said.
Amid the trial in Manhattan, Trump attacked both Merchan and his daughter on social media. After he claimed that the judge's daughter "makes money by working to 'Get Trump,'" Merchan expanded a gag order to prevent Trump from publicly commenting about family members of court staff or prosecutors. The former president had already been barred from talking about witnesses and jurors in the case.
"Defendant has provided nothing new for this Court to consider. Counsel has merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts," the judge concluded. "Defense Counsel's reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing."
With Merchan still on the case, Trump's immunity claims remain to be decided.
The judge is expected to deliver his immunity decision on September 16, two days before sentencing, as to whether Trump's conviction should be thrown out in light of the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. In July, the justices granted the former president broad immunity from prosecution for official acts taken in office.
While the hush money case largely revolved around Trump's actions before assuming office, his lawyers argue that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office's case was partly built on evidence from Trump's time in the White House, citing testimony from his former communication director Hope Hicks and former aide Madeleine Westerhout.
During the trial, Hicks testified about discussions she had with Trump at the White House and how the Trump team responded when Daniels' story broke in 2018.
Westerhout recalled scheduling a meeting between Trump and Cohen in 2017, during which Cohen says they discussed reimbursement for the hush-money payment he made to help Trump.
Update 8/14/24, 9:04 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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