Trump's Third Attempt to Remove Judge in Hush Money Case Fails

 NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) — A New York judge has rejected Donald Trump’s third request for recusal in the case involving hush money payments to a porn star. Justice Juan Merchan dismissed Trump’s claim of a conflict of interest, which was based on political consultancy work done by the judge's daughter. As he did in April and August 2023, Merchan denied Trump's lawyers' request for him to step aside from the landmark case, the first criminal case against a former U.S. president. Merchan is set to sentence Trump on September 18.

"Defendant has offered no new information for the Court's consideration. Counsel has simply reiterated arguments previously rejected by this and higher courts, which are 'full of inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims,'" Merchan wrote in the ruling dated August 13. 

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to comment. 

"The Highly Conflicted Judge should have recused himself from this case a long time ago," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated.

On May 30, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for concealing the $130,000 payment made by his former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, in an attempt to prevent a sex scandal before the 2016 U.S. election. Two months later, Trump’s lawyers submitted their third request for Justice Merchan to recuse himself, arguing that the judge's daughter’s work with a political consultancy—which has worked with Democratic campaigns, including Kamala Harris’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid—constituted a conflict of interest.

Harris, currently the Vice President, is the Democratic presidential candidate competing against Republican nominee Trump in the November 5 U.S. election. Falsifying business records is a crime punishable by up to four years in prison, though fines or probation are more commonly imposed for such offenses. Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which brought the charges, labeled Trump's recusal request as a "frivolous" effort to revisit an issue that has already been addressed twice.