Trump Lawyer: ‘Extremely Improper’ that Judge in Trump Criminal Case Is a Biden Donor

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, is a Biden donor, Trump lawyer Jesse Binnall said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily.

Discussing the case involving Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged Trump with 34 felonies, accusing him of falsifying business records in relation to a “hush money” payment made to Stormy Daniels, Binnall reminded listeners that the entire case “is based on the word of Michael Cohen,” an “admitted perjurer.”

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“That’s the kind of the best they have. That’s what they’re building their case around is someone who … has lied to courts and factually, this case is just absolutely baseless,” he said, reminding listeners that Judge Merchan is a Biden donor.

“Let’s remember that Judge Merchan is a Biden donor. Let’s remember that his family has a vested financial interest in this case, or … the fact that the case is ongoing. They’re going to try to drag this case out I think as long as possible in order to affect the presidential election,” Binnall said.

Michael Cohen leaves for a break during the civil business fraud trial of former President Donald Trump at New York Supreme Court, on October 24, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Indeed, Judge Merchan made three donations to Democrats in 2020, opening the door for an ethics investigation.

When asked how a judge can be a donor and how that can even be allowed, Binnall said it is not.

“There are very specific instances when judges are supposed to take themselves off cases,” he explained, noting that this is “most important” when there was either bias by the judge or the appearance of bias against a criminal defendant.

Judge Juan Merchan poses for a picture in his chambers in New York, Thursday, March 14, 2024. Merchan could become the first judge ever to oversee a former U.S. president’s criminal trial. He's presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Judge Juan Merchan poses for a picture in his chambers in New York, on March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“And that person is entitled to a blank slate before the trial starts. And judge who can’t do that, the judge who comes into it with a preconceived notion about a defendant should recuse himself from the case,” he said, noting that this is a “remarkable” instance “where a judge donated to the candidate’s political opponent.”

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