The judge in Donald Trump's hush money trial this week revealed mounting frustration with the former president as he tries to wriggle out of his historic criminal conviction, according to court records and legal experts.
Judge Juan Merchan unleashed his frustration Monday, just one month before he's slated to decide whether Trump should serve time for falsifying business records to conceal hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels, MSNBC legal expert Lisa Rubin said in her analysis of New York State court documents.
"Merchan’s pique with Trump’s counsel, whose prior affirmation Merchan calls 'rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims,' is clear," Rubin said.
The latest ruling represented Trump's third attempt to toss Merchan from the case, this time arguing that he was biased by his daughter's prior work on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris, court records show.
Merchan disagreed.
"This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear - innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create," writes Merchan.
Rubin said the "nail in the coffin" for Trump was that Merchan found his lawyers unable to provide any substantial evidence to back his claim.
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"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."
Merchan, who received an affirming nod from the judicial ethics board more than one year ago, also slammed Trump for missing a deadline for post-trial motions by more than a month, 48 days exactly.
Trump is scheduled to return to Merchan's New York City courtroom on Sept. 18 to face sentencing on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The maximum sentence for the charges is four years but, considering the nonviolent nature of Trump's crime, Merchan could order a less severe punishment such as probation.
Frank Runyeon, the New York courts reporter for Law 360, characterized Trump's motion as a failure and Merchan's response as a rebuke.
Runyeon reported, "Merchan pans Trump's filing.'"
