Manhattan DA pushes back on Trump bid to remove judge in hush money case
Kaelan Deese
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Former President Donald Trump‘s bid to oust the judge overseeing his criminal prosecution in New York should not be granted, according to a Tuesday filing from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Trump earlier this month filed a motion seeking the recusal of New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the case in which the former president is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to an alleged hush payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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The former president has a “history of baselessly accusing state and federal judges around the country of bias,” prosecutors wrote in opposition to Trump’s motion on Tuesday.
Trump has sought to remove Merchan from the case, saying he is biased because of his daughter’s past work for Democrats and that he stands to benefit financially from a conviction in the case.
Prosecutors for the Manhattan office argued a recusal would facilitate an “apparent effort by the defendant to select his own judge and would encourage other litigants to adopt the same approach,” according to the Tuesday court filing. “The motion to recuse should be denied.”
Trump also claims Merchan “pushed” former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to plead guilty in his criminal case last summer. Prosecutors counter that it was Weisselberg who initiated plea talks and that any involvement by the judge has no bearing on a completely separate case.
“The Court’s participation in plea discussions involving Mr. Weisselberg was completely proper and displayed no favoritism or antagonism toward any party,” prosecutors said.
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Meanwhile, Trump is also attempting to remove his case from state court into federal court completely. A hearing on that matter is slated for next week.
The Washington Examiner contacted Trump attorney Susan Necheles for comment.