Judge Juan Merchan denied a third request from Donald Trump that the judge recuse himself from the former president’s hush money case over Merchan’s daughter’s marketing work for Democratic politicians.
Merchan wrote in an order made public on Wednesday that Trump made his request past the deadline to do so and that the former president presented no new arguments in his new recusal motion. The judge accused Trump of using “innuendo and mischaracterizations” to argue Merchan had a conflict of interest in the case.
“This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear – innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create,” Merchan wrote. “Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required.”
Trump moved to recuse Juan Merchan for a third time last month on the grounds that Loren Merchan’s line of work at a top Democratic marketing firm presented a conflict of interest for the judge. Juan Merchan also denied the last two requests, citing an independent panel determining that Loren Merchan’s work for the firm Authentic Campaigns did not create a conflict.
Trump’s attorneys said the former president’s third request came in light of Vice President Kamala Harris emerging last month as Trump’s Democratic opponent in the presidential election after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. The attorneys noted that Loren Merchan, who is a partner at Authentic, “has a long-standing relationship with Harris, including work for political campaigns.”
Authentic has raked in millions of dollars from its marketing work for some of Trump’s top political rivals in recent years, including Harris, Biden, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Schiff, in particular, was using Authentic’s services at the same time that his Senate campaign solicited donations through emails that cited Trump’s New York trial last year.
Trump’s attorneys argued three times to no avail that Loren Merchan’s firm stood to gain financially from the progress and outcome of Trump’s case.
After Congress launched an inquiry into Authentic, the firm’s founder Mike Nellis spoke out for the first time on Tuesday to defend his company, writing in a public letter that Authentic has not provided services to Harris’s campaign, Biden’s campaign, or the Democratic National Committee since January 2023. The firm did work for Harris’s failed presidential bid in 2019, however.
“Neither Authentic nor Ms. Merchan benefits financially from any rulings in Donald Trump’s criminal or civil trials,” Nellis wrote.
Nellis, for his part, is an ardent Harris supporter who launched “White Dudes for Harris,” which has raised millions of dollars for the vice president’s campaign.
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Juan Merchan said in his order that Harris’s newfound candidacy “provided nothing new for this Court to consider” and that Trump’s attorneys “merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts.”
Trump was convicted by a jury in May of falsifying records of a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels. While the trial is over, Juan Merchan is still presiding over the case and is in the process of weighing an argument from Trump to dismiss his charges. The judge will also be tasked with sentencing Trump in September.
