Former Department of Justice spokesman Anthony Coley predicted on Friday that the judge presiding over the New York hush money case against former President Donald Trump may face credibility issues in the public eye due to prior political contributions.
Judge Juan Merchan is overseeing the Manhattan-based case alleging that Trump paid hush money to former porn actress Stormy Daniels and falsified business records to conceal it before the 2016 presidential election. Merchan donated $15 to then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign, as well as $10 each to Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans in 2020, which Coley said could pose a potential problem. (RELATED: Judge Denies Trump’s Team From Referencing E. Jean Carroll’s Rape Claim For Future Defamation Trial)
“My issue with this case is the judge, and I should note here that he is highly respected within the New York legal community here, but he made not one, not two, but he made three political donations in recent years, in 2020,” Coley said on MSNBC’s “Ana Cabrera Reports.” “One of those donations was to Donald Trump’s general election opponent, Joe Biden. Another one of those donations was to an organization called Stop Republicans.”
“Now, I want to be clear, he is allowed to make those type of donations,” he added. “That’s within the New York judicial ethics code. He can do that, but the question here is a question of appearance, and just because somebody is allowed to do something doesn’t mean that they should, and my hope here is that he reconsiders his recusal.”
Trump requested Merchan recuse himself in part because of potential bias related to the donations, but the judge declined to do so in August, The New York Times reported.
“I have no doubt that he can fairly adjudicate this case in the court of law,” Coley asserted. “But it’s the court of public opinion here where people can reasonably question whether or not Judge Merchan in this case can execute justice fairly, and that’s a fair question, and it gives Donald Trump another talking point on the campaign trail that distracts away from the substance of the case.”
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