Trump Team Files Pre-Motion For Recusal In ‘Hush Money’ Case
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers recently filed a pre-motion letter requesting that New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan recuse himself from the outrageous “hush money” case against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
It has been clear for some time now that Merchan, like many other radical Democrats involved in the various prosecutions of Trump, is extremely biased against the former president. His conflicts of interest have been pointed out by numerous journalists, including his prior donations to President Joe Biden, Trump’s likely rival in the November election.
However, the latest revelation about Merchan’s conflict of interest has prompted action from Trump’s legal team. Journalist and avid Trump supporter Laura Loomer broke the news in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, revealing that the judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is an executive and partner at the leftist firm Authentic Campaigns Inc. — which has many high-profile Democrats as clients, including Vice President Kamala Harris and disgraced Rep. Adam Schiff (D).
Following that report, Trump’s legal team submitted a pre-motion letter informing the court that they would be “seeking leave to file a motion for recusal” — noting that the motion would be “based on changed circumstances and newly discovered evidence.”
The letter went on to point out that Merchan dismissed the calls for his recusal back in August 2023, claiming that Trump’s concerns were based on “speculative and hypothetical scenarios.”
However, Trump’s lawyers pointed out that these “scenarios identified by the defense have come to pass.”
“President Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for president in the 2024 election,” they wrote. “Your Honor’s daughter is an executive and partner at Authentic Campaigns, Inc. As recently as February and March 2024, Authentic has used social media to market its connections to President Biden and Vice President Harris while deriding President Trump. Authentic and Your Honor’s daughter are making money by supporting the creation and dissemination of campaign advocacy for President Trump’s opponent, political rivals, and the Democrat party.”
“It can no longer be ignored that Authentic’s commercial interests are benefitted by developments in this case that harm President Trump’s penal interests and divert his efforts from running his leading campaign for the presidency by requiring him to prepare and sit for trial during the general election,” the letter continued.
“The trial in this case will benefit Authentic financially by providing its clients more fodder for fundraising. Authentic will make more money by assisting with those communications, and Your Honor’s daughter will continue to earn money from these developments,” they added.
The legal team then pointed out that the “ethics opinion” that Merchan relied on when denying the prior recusal motion stated that the court saw “nothing in the inquiry to suggest that the outcome of the case could have any effect on the judge’s relative, the relative’s business, or any of their interests.”
Merchan reportedly declined to share this “inquiry.”
Trump’s lawyers then cited filings from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which revealed that Authentic Campaigns had “received millions of dollars in disbursements from entities associated with President Trump’s political rivals since the Indictment was returned.”
They went on to note that some of those funds received by Authentic Campaigns had come directly from entities associated with lawmakers and political action committees (PACs) that have solicited contributions via email or social media specifically based on the case that Merchan was overseeing.
“Thus, there is strong evidence that Authentic has used this case to make money,” the lawyers argued. “Those benefits and the ongoing financial interest cannot be ignored.”
The legal team also pointed out that Merchan’s outrageous gag order imposed on Trump, which he has expanded to cover his own daughter, prevents the presumptive Republican presidential nominee from engaging in “protected campaign speech.”
They then noted that, following public scrutiny of the judge’s daughter and the Trump team’s comments about this evidence of bias, Loren Merchan and Authentic Campaigns’ X accounts were made private — “thereby limiting President Trump’s ability to investigate these issues.”
“Under these circumstances, Your Honor has an interest in this case that warrants recusal,” the letter concluded, adding that “Trump respectfully requests permission to file a motion in support of these arguments.”
