The Daily Fuckup

Judge Juan Merchan kept himself on Donald Trump’s Manhattan hush-money case on Aug. 11, 2023, denying a defense motion that asked him to recuse. The ruling did not dismiss the case, pause it, or change its overall posture. It simply rejected Trump’s effort to remove the judge over alleged conflicts and bias. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/Reporter/3dseries/2023/2023_51485.htm))

In his written decision, Merchan said Trump’s lawyers had raised three main points: the judge’s daughter’s work as president and chief operating officer of Authentic Campaigns, a digital marketing firm that works with Democratic candidates and nonprofits; Merchan’s handling of an earlier Trump Organization case involving Allen Weisselberg; and small political donations the judge had made in 2020. Merchan rejected each argument and said the motion fell short of the legal standard for recusal. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/Reporter/3dseries/2023/2023_51485.htm))

On the daughter issue, the judge pointed to an advisory opinion from the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics that found no reason the outcome of the case would affect the relative, her business, or their interests. On the Weisselberg argument, Merchan said Trump was recycling recusal claims that had already been rejected in the Trump Organization case. On the contribution issue, he said the donations were modest and did not create a reasonable basis to question his impartiality. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/Reporter/3dseries/2023/2023_51485.htm))

Merchan closed by saying he had weighed the competing interests and concluded that recusal would not be in the public interest. He also said he was certain of his ability to be fair and impartial. The result was narrower than Trump’s team wanted, but straightforward: the judge stayed on the case and the defense lost another bid to change the courtroom lineup before trial. ([nycourts.gov](https://www.nycourts.gov/Reporter/3dseries/2023/2023_51485.htm))