Trump to demand judge be removed in hush money case: documents

Donald Trump filed notice that he will demand Judge Juan Merchan recuse himself from the New York City election interference case involving a hush money deal, newly revealed records show.

The attorneys wrote a pre-motion letter Monday saying that after issuing the gag order, Merchan must no longer preside over the case, Lawfare managing editor Tyler McBrien posted online Tuesday.

"Your Honor has an interest in this case that warrants recusal," the attorneys argue. "There is an unacceptable risk that the Court's family relationships will influence judicial conduct."

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The lawyers claim the motion will be filed on Wednesday.

Trump's lawyers attacked Merchan's daughter and her position with the company Authentic Campaigns, according to the excerpt shared on X.

"Your Honor's daughter [is] making money by supporting the creation and dissemination of campaign advocacy for President Trump's opponent, political rivals, and the Democrat party," they write.

"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."

The letter goes on to say that the gag order issued last week at the urging of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is against Trump's First Amendment rights. The judge expanded that order after Trump began his public attacks on the judge's daughter, which included posting her photo.

Trump's lawyers argue any gag order "restricts his ability to engage in protected campaign speech."

They also alleged the judge was using the official offices to aid Merchan's family.

"Last week, the Court used the Office of Court Administration to issue a statement relating to an X account used at some point by Your Honor's daughter," the letter says. The statement Trump took issue with was a response to Trump's claims about Merchan's daughter. The court said that the X account did not belong to his daughter, despite Trump's claim that it did.

“The X, formerly Twitter, account being attributed to Judge Merchan’s daughter no longer belongs to her since she deleted it approximately a year ago,” Office of Court Administration spokesperson Al Baker said in a statement. “It is not linked to her email address, nor has she posted under that screen name since she deleted the account."

As The Atlantic explained in 2019, targeting a judge in an effort to have them removed isn't a legal option.

"Federal courts have long held that a party can't insult or antagonize a judge and then demand her recusal on the theory that the insults have biased her. That’s why President Trump couldn’t force United States District Judge Gonzalo Curiel off his case with his bigoted and boorish claims that Curiel’s ethnic background disqualified him from hearing the Trump University case," the column said.