Judicial headshot/Getty Judge Juan Merchan.
Judge Juan Merchan is presiding over the historic criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump in Manhattan, with jury selection expected to begin on April 15. That has his politics under scrutiny.
Is Merchan a Democrat or Republican? Trump has raised two key issues accusing Merchan of favoring Democrats: Small campaign donations Merchan made, including to President Joe Biden’s campaign, and Merchan’s daughter’s leadership at a firm that has earned millions of dollars from the campaigns of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The judge refused to recuse himself in both matters, and the issues are under appeal. In the past, Merchan was appointed to judgeships by a then-Republican and a Democrat.
Here’s what you need to know about the politics of Judge Juan Merchan:
Judge Juan Merchan Donated $15 to President Joe Biden’s Campaign, Federal Records Show
FECJuan Merchan campaign finance record.
In a court motion, Trump argued that Merchan should recuse himself, in part because of campaign donations the judge previously made, an August decision by Merchan reads.
“It is Defendant’s contention that campaign contributions made by this Court in 2020, ‘raise if true, at the very least, an appearance of impartiality [sic].'” The state opposed the motion, arguing that Trump “presents no arguments that fairly raise any actual or perceived conflict of interest or preconceived bias.”
Merchan rejected Trump’s arguments for the judge’s recusal, writing, “Defendant has failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required on these grounds. The speculative and hypothetical scenarios offered by Defendant fall well short of the legal standard. Defendant’s motion for recusal on these grounds is therefore Denied,” the ruling states.
BBC reported that Merchan “donated a total of $35 to Democrats during the 2020 election.” Federal Election Commission records confirm this and indicated $15 went to the Joe Biden campaign. According to NBC News, the two other donations were “to the groups Stop Republicans and Progressive Turnout Project.”
Trump supporter Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican, has referred to Merchan as a “Democrat Manhattan Judge,” based on these donations.
Former President Donald Trump Has Accused Judge Juan Merchan of Being a ‘Trump Hater’ Whose Daughter Works for a ‘Super Liberal Democrat Firm’
GettyDonald Trump.
According to CNN, Merchan issued a gag order against Trump, stopping him from “publicly commenting on witnesses and the staff of the court and district attorney,” as well as Merchan’s “own family,” after Trump criticized Merchan’s daughter. Trump is appealing the gag order, CNN reported.
According to CNN, the gag order was prompted in part on a post Trump made on Truth Social, in which he called the judge a “true and certified Trump hater” and wrote that Merchan’s daughter Loren Merchan was a “senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm” that has worked for President Joe Biden and other Democrats. Trump wrote in full:
Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. In other words, he hates me! His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden. He was recently the judge on an unrelated trial of a long term employee, elderly and not in good health. This judge treated him viciously, telling him either you cooperate or I’m putting you in jail for 15 years. He pled, and went to jail for very minor offenses, highly unusual, served 4 months in Rikers, and now they are after him again, this time for allegedly lying (doesn’t look like a lie to me!), and they threatened him again with 15 years if he doesn’t say something bad about “TRUMP.” He is devastated and scared! These COUNTRY DESTROYING SCOUNDRELS & THUGS HAVE NO CASE AGAINST ME. WITCH HUNT!
According to CNN, “It’s true that Loren Merchan has served as president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that does digital campaign work like online fundraising, mobile messaging and web design. They work with Democratic political candidates, including some of Trump’s most outspoken opponents.” CNN reported that the company had removed references to Loren Merchan from its site so it was unclear her current role there. She was the company’s president in August, according to a Merchant court ruling, CNN reported.
CNN noted that a deleted LinkedIn page posted by conservative outlets indicated that Loren Merchan had worked for the campaign of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
In the court filing, Merchan wrote that Trump argued that “the political and financial interest” of Merchan’s daughter “creates an actual or perceived conflict of interest because rulings and decisions” made by this Court “may result in a financial benefit to Your Honor’s daughter.”
Merchan noted, “This Court’s daughter is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Authentic Campaigns, Inc., a digital marketing agency that works with Democratic Party candidates as well as non-profit organizations.”
The state argues that Trump’s “claims are so ‘remote, speculative, ‘possible or contingent,'” the court documents say.
The Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics wrote Merchan that “a judge’s impartiality cannot reasonably be questioned based on (a) de minimis political contributions made more than two years ago or (b) the business and/or potential activities of the judge’s first-degree relative, where the relative has no direct or indirect influence in the proceeding and no interests that could be substantially affected by the proceeding.” The Committee wrote that Merchan was not required to recuse. He attached the decision to the bottom of his ruling.
President Joe Biden is among the clients listed on the Authentic Campaigns, Inc. website, as well as, according to CNN, “campaigns that have disparaged Trump, including for being charged with crimes.”
According to CNN, Harris’s campaign paid the company more than $7.5 million in 2019, and Biden’s firm paid the company more than $2.1 million.
Judge Juan Merchan Was Named to Judgeships by a Then-Republican Mayor & Democratic Governor
GettyBloomberg
According to a biography of the judge, he was first named a judge in New York’s Family Court in Bronx County by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2006. CNN reported that Bloomberg was a Republican at that time.
He was then named to the New York State Court of Claims by former Governor David Paterson, a Democrat, serving there until 2018.
He also worked for the New York State Attorney General’s Office as a prosecutor.
He attended City University of New York, Bernard M. Baruch College, and Hofstra University Law School, the bio says.
He also worked for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor from 1994 to 1999. He was born in Bogota, Colombia, the biography says.
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