Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Wednesday slammed former President Donald Trump's demand that the judge overseeing his hush money case recuse himself in a new court filing, records show.
The District Attorney's office set itself firmly in opposition to Trump's argument that Justice Juan Merchan could not fairly oversee the New York City criminal trial because of a conflict of interest.
"This daisy chain of innuendos is a far cry from evidence," Bragg's assistant district attorneys wrote. "There is simply nothing new here."
Trump's claims of impartiality are linked to Merchan's daughter, whom he targeted with social media attacks until the judge felt forced to tighten a gag order against the former president.
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In his recusal claim, Trump argued Merchan's daughter's job with the digital consulting firm Authentic, which he claimed channels money toward liberal causes, render him unable to oversee the case from an impartial perspective.
In Wednesday's filing, Bragg's legal team rejected this notion, citing an August 2023 ruling on Trump's previous demand.
"[Trump] asserts, without citation, that 'Authentic has used social media to market its connections to President Biden and Vice President Harris while deriding President Trump,'" the prosecutors write. "Even assuming that this claim is true...this Court and the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics have already determined that such a claim provides no basis for recusal."
These last minute recusal motions come less than two weeks before the trial is slated to begin in New York City's criminal court.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records linked to cover up payments Bragg contends silenced adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The former president hopes once again to regain the White House in 2025 and, as he hits the campaign trial, has pursued a parallel campaign of delay in his four criminal court cases.
