On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, Mediaite reported that former President Donald Trump lashed out at Justice Juan M. Merchan via his TruthSocial platform. Justice Merchan had denied Trump’s latest bid to recuse himself from overseeing Trump’s criminal hush money case in New York.
In his post on TruthSocial, Trump referred to Justice Merchan as a “fascist” and claimed the judge’s decision was an example of “real Fascist ‘stuff,’ the old Soviet Union.” Trump had argued Merchan should recuse himself due to an alleged conflict of interest involving Merchan’s daughter and her work for a firm that has done marketing for Vice President Kamala Harris’ past campaigns.
However, in his 3-page ruling on Tuesday, Justice Merchan dismissed Trump’s claims as “stale and unsubstantiated” as well as “rife with inaccuracies.” The judge cited a state advisory committee on judicial ethics, which found Merchan’s impartiality could not be questioned based on his daughter’s associations. Merchan’s decision also rebuked Trump’s recusal request as “a vexatious and frivolous attempt to relitigate” an already settled issue.
In addition to lashing out at Justice Merchan, Trump protested in his TruthSocial post about still being under a gag order in the case that prevents him from speaking publicly about “VERY IMPORTANT THINGS.” Trump argued this amounted to “suppression and manipulation of the vote” and “voter interference” ahead of the election. He called on the U.S. Supreme Court to get involved and claimed “New York is trying to steal the Election.”
Justice Merchan is scheduled to rule on September 16 on Trump’s immunity motion in the case, a decision that could significantly impact whether Trump faces sentencing or potential prison time. If the motion is denied, Trump could receive up to four years behind bars.
Source: Mediaite
