Former President Trump’s third request to recuse the judge in the “hush money case” has been rejected by the judge responsible for overseeing Trump’s Manhattan criminal case.
On Wednesday (August 14th), New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan once again denied the former president’s request to recuse himself from the case. In a three-page court order, Merchan stated that Trump’s lawyers’ arguments were nothing more than “repetitions of stale and baseless allegations.”
Trump’s attorneys argued that the case interfered with Trump’s activities as a Republican presidential candidate and that the judge had a conflict of interest due to his daughter’s “long-standing relationship” with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, so it was inappropriate for Merchan to preside over the lawsuit.
Trump’s lawyers pointed out that Merchan’s daughter is the president of Authentic Campaigns Inc., a company that provided services to both past and current presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton.
In the court order, Merchan wrote, “The defendant has not provided any new material for this court to consider; the defense attorneys are merely repeating arguments that have already been rejected by this court and higher courts.”
Merchan had previously rejected motions submitted by Trump’s lawyers in August last year and April this year, requesting Merchan to recuse himself from the case.
After the jury convicted Trump on all 34 felony charges in May this year, Trump’s lawyers initiated a third recusal request at the end of July.
Merchan had previously postponed Trump’s sentencing date to September 18th. His decision on Wednesday means that he will continue to oversee the case.
With the recusal motion being denied, Merchan is expected to soon rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss the case based on the recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity.
In a landmark ruling last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump has immunity for official acts performed during his tenure and cannot be prosecuted for actions taken as president.