Staff Reports
Former President Donald Trump and his legal team are demanding the recusal of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s judge claiming a lack of impartiality. Trump’s legal submissions to the court have highlighted the judge’s links to previous cases and possible connections to a left-wing advertising group known as Authentic Strategies.
If the judge is honest, he will. https://t.co/m7OL3l3Q3n
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) June 4, 2023
According to Trump’s lawyers, the judge’s daughter is employed by Authentic Campaigns, which could stand to gain financially from decisions made in the case against Trump. They have also raised concerns that the case could impact political messaging during the 2024 electoral cycle. Trump’s legal team has urged the court to consider the importance of an impartial judge, stating that “the People of the State of New York and this nation have confidence that the jurist who presides over it is impartial.”
The defense states that the judge should have disclosed his relationship with Authentic Campaigns at or before arraignment based on previous cases where disclosure was required to avoid an appearance of impropriety. The advertising group is a digital agency partnering with clients for progressive campaigns. It has raised over $74 million in campaign contributions for Democrat clients since 2018 and includes the Biden-Harris campaign and Kamala Harris for the People amongst its clients.
Trump’s legal team has also requested an explanation regarding alleged political contributions made by Judge Merchan to Joe Biden’s campaign and other political causes. Federal Election Commission records show that a person named Juan Merchan, who works for the New York court system, donated $35 in political contributions in 2020, with $15 going to President Joe Biden’s campaign.
This 2016 payment made by Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is alleged to have violated campaign finance laws. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges of violating campaign finance laws faces in his trial ahead.
It is disconcerting to witness a judge being inextricably linked to a left-wing agency, particularly when the charges being leveled against the former President are politically motivated. The fact that the judge did not disclose his apparent conflict of interest earlier raises questions about the impartiality of his judgment.
In conclusion, this case should be tried by an impartial judge who does not have any ties to left-wing organizations seeking to gain financially from the indictment of a Republican former President and his allies.
