New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over former President Donald Trump’s six-week-long trial in New York v. Trump, has long been concerned about his daughter’s history of being employed by a Democrat firm that previously worked for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Now, things have gotten even worse for Judge Merchan. Indeed, he’s just been hit with a legal blow that may be hard for him to come back from.
America First Legal (AFL) is suing Merchan for refusing to turn over his financial disclosures. This comes amidst questions about whether he could truly remain unbiased in Trump’s case, given his own daughter’s ties to prominent Democrats.
Last week, the AFL sent a demand letter for Merchan’s financial disclosures, threatening legal action. The AFL had asked for these records back in June, but heard nothing back. New York judges are required to file annual financial disclosures under state law. They must then turn over these disclosures if requested to do so.
From Fox News:
“The law is clear that judicial financial disclosures must be released to the public,” AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. “New York’s highest court has stated that such disclosures are necessary for parties before the courts to get a fair shake.”Epstein said the public “needs to know what Judge Merchan is hiding or even if he failed to file financial disclosures at all.”
“This is especially important given the fact that Merchan appears to have engaged in unlawful campaign contributions and is on the precipice of criminally sentencing the former president of the United States,” Epstein said. “Fundamental fairness dictates a resolution of America First Legal’s suit in its favor.”
Judge Merchan’s Potential Conflict Of Interest
The AFL believes that these records are more important than ever, given Merchan’s potential conflict of interest in Trump’s case. The judge’s daughter Loren Merchan is the president of Authentic Campaigns. This is a company that has a long history of doing work for powerful Democrats like Biden, Harris, and more.
“Clearly, Justice Merchan’s daughter and her clients stand to profit handsomely from lawfare against President Trump,” the AFL stated in the lawsuit. The AFL added that Judge Merchan has previously donated to the Biden campaign and other Democrat causes.
The timing of this lawsuit is crucial, as Judge Merchan is set to sentence Trump on September 18. This comes after Trump was found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has asked for his sentencing date to be pushed back to after the November presidential election, but Merchan has yet to make a decision on this.
Judge Merchan has refused to recuse himself from Trump’s case three times. It’s become blatantly obvious that Merchan should have recused himself from the very beginning, as there’s nothing unbiased about him when it comes to Trump.
The way that the American legal system has been weaponized against Trump is nothing short of a travesty. Having a shamelessly liberal judge like Merchan, who has clear documented ties to Biden and Harris, preside over Trump’s case is proof of that.
We applaud the AFL for suing Judge Merchan. Here’s hoping that this is what finally gets this biased judge off of this case once and for all.
Key Takeaways:
- Judge Merchan sued by AFL over his financial disclosures.
- Merchan is the judge presiding over New York v. Trump case.
- Merchan has refused to recuse himself despite his daughter’s ties to Kamala Harris.
Source: Fox News
