Judge Juan M. Marchan poses in a New York courtroom on March 14, 2024.
Seth Wenig/AP
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Seth Wenig/AP
Judge Juan M. Marchan poses in a New York courtroom on March 14, 2024.
Seth Wenig/AP
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump is demanding a new judge just days before his hush-money criminal trial begins, rehashing years of grievances with the current judge in a long-running battle to disrupt and delay the trial. .
Mr. Trump’s lawyers echoed Mr. Trump’s recent social media complaints and accused Manhattan Judge Juan M. Marchan of bias and conflict of interest because Mr. Trump’s daughter is a political consultant for the Democratic Party. He urged him to withdraw from the lawsuit. A judge rejected a similar request last August.
In court documents released Friday, Mr. Trump’s lawyers said that Mr. Marchan had “financially and reputationally harmed Mr. Trump’s campaign as a potential Republican presidential nominee in a way that this lawsuit would interfere with.” “It is inappropriate for him to preside over these lawsuits while he is making a profit,” he said. .
The trial is scheduled to begin April 15, and is the first of four criminal cases against President Trump scheduled for trial and the first criminal trial for a former president.
Mr. Machan did not rule immediately. The decision is completely up to him. If he leaves, it would disrupt the trial’s schedule and force President Trump into his much-needed postponement while a new judge gets to work.
Messages seeking comment were left with a court spokeswoman and Mr. Marchan’s daughter, Lauren Marchan. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said there was no reason for Marchan to resign.
The defense’s argument that Lauren Marchand profited from her father’s judgment requires “multiple minor leaps in fact” that undermine her company’s direct connection to the case. Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said in a letter to the judge.
“This string of innuendos falls far short of evidence that Judge Marchand has a direct, personal, or financial interest in reaching a particular conclusion,” Colangelo wrote.
Lauren Marchan is president of Authentic Campaigns and has collected at least $70 million in payments from Democratic candidates and campaign groups since she helped found the company in 2018, records show.
The company’s past clients include Senate Majority PAC, a big-spending political committee affiliated with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senate Majority PAC paid $15.2 million to Authentic Campaigns, according to campaign finance disclosures.
In another development Friday, Marchan blocked Trump’s lawyers from forcing NBC to provide materials related to a recent documentary about the prosecution’s key witness, porn actor Stormy Daniels. He ruled that the defense’s subpoena was “the very definition of a fishing expedition” and did not meet the legal burden of requiring media access to notes and documents.
Marchan on Wednesday rejected the would-be Republican’s request to postpone the trial until the Supreme Court rules on a presidential immunity claim he had raised in a separate criminal case. The judge has not yet ruled on another defense delay request. This alleges that he was denied a fair trial due to “biased media coverage.”
The hush money lawsuit stems from allegations that Trump falsified company records to hide payments to former lawyer Michael Cohen, who helped cover up negative stories during the 2016 campaign. focused. Among other things, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims that she had an extramarital sexual relationship with Trump several years ago.
President Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He denied having sexual contact with Daniels. His lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.
Last week, President Trump posted a post on his Truth Social platform attacking the judge and his daughter, foreshadowing a new push by lawyers to remove Marchand from the case.
Trump has suggested, without providing evidence, that Marchand’s rulings, including the decision to place a gag order on Trump, were influenced by his daughter’s consulting interests. He falsely claimed that she had posted a photo of her on social media showing him inside her prison. After President Trump attacked Lauren Marchand, a judge expanded a gag order that prevents her from speaking publicly about her family.
“The judge must immediately resign and right the wrong he committed last year by not doing so,” President Trump wrote on March 27. “If biased and inconsistent judges are allowed to remain in this sham ‘litigation,’ it will be a different story.” This is a sad example of what has become a republic. ”
Trump similarly urged a judge to recuse himself in an election interference case in Washington, D.C., arguing that his past comments cast doubt on his ability to be impartial. But U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said there was no reason for her to resign.
Mr. Marchan’s daughter played a prominent role in the defense’s request to dismiss the case last year. They also seized several small donations that the judges collectively made to Democratic causes during the 2020 campaign. The total amount was $35, including $15 to Biden.
Marchan denied that request, writing last August that a state court ethics commission found that Lauren Marchan’s work had nothing to do with his impartiality. The judge said he was confident in Trump’s “ability to be fair and impartial,” and Trump’s lawyers argued that “there are concrete or practical reasons why a recusal is appropriate, much less those reasons.” “We were unable to prove that we had what was required.”
Trump’s lawyers say the president is determined to run for a rematch with President Joe Biden, and that Democrats (including clients of Lauren Marchan’s firm) are using fundraising emails based on developments in the hush-money scandal to raise concerns about Trump’s law. They are trying to take advantage of this issue and claim that the situation has changed.
Referring to Republican fundraising platforms and pro-Trump fundraising committees, Blanche and Necheres wrote, “If the judge presiding over these cases had an adult child who worked for Winred or MAGA Inc. “That would be completely unacceptable to most New Yorkers.”
In seeking Marchan’s retraction, Trump’s lawyers suggested that Marchand may have violated rules of judicial conduct and also challenged his decision to give an interview to The Associated Press last month. questioned the use of a court spokesperson last week to deny the allegations. He posted an image of President Trump in prison.
In an interview, Marchan told The Associated Press that he and his staff are working hard to prepare for the former president’s historic first trial, saying, “There is no agenda here. We want to follow the law. Justice. I hope that will be done,” he said. ”
