Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the hush-money trial that resulted in 34 felony convictions against former President Donald Trump, slapped down yet another effort by Trump's lawyers to get Merchan to recuse himself from the case.
In a ruling flagged by MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin, Merchan dismissed claims made by Trump's lawyers that he should have to recuse because of work that his daughter once did for Vice President Kamala Harris, who has since taken President Joe Biden's place as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
As Rubin writes, Merchan informed Trump's lawyers that he was "given the OK over a year ago by an advisory panel on judicial ethics" to take on the hush-money case.
Additionally to this, Merchan notes that Trump's lawyers missed their deadline to file post-trial motions by 48 days.
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However, Rubin argues that the real dagger in the Trump attorneys' arguments is that they brought nothing new to the table, as they tried to get him to recuse using nearly identical arguments in earlier filings.
"Defendant has provided nothing new for this Court to consider," Merchan writes in his conclusion. "Counsel has merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts. Defense Counsel's reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing. As such, Defendant's motion is again DENIED."
