Donald Trump on Friday urged the judge in his “hush money” criminal case to recuse himself over his daughter’s marketing efforts for prominent Democrats. This is the latest in a series of attempts to delay the trial, which is scheduled to begin in 10 days.
Lauren Marchan, the daughter of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan, has become an asset to Trump foes like Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead prosecutor in the first Republican impeachment trial, because she works for Authentic Campaigns, a consulting firm. He has a “direct financial interest” in the case. argued the former president’s lawyer.
Judge Marchan rejected a similar argument made by Trump’s lawyers in August 2023 about his daughter’s work, saying, There was no evidence to suggest that it could be.” ”
Marchan also noted that he consulted the New York State Commission on Judicial Ethics before deciding to proceed with the case.
But Trump’s lawyers argued Friday that the issue should be reconsidered in light of new circumstances. These include the fact that Mr. Trump is now the Republican presidential nominee, “ensuring him as a political target for Mr. Authentic, Mr. Marchand, and their clients. ”.
Authentic’s clients used “graphics and other content that mocked” Trump in their marketing materials after he was indicted on charges of concealing hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. The company paid more than $18 million to the company, which had been in charge of the same, the lawyers added.
Lawyers say the company’s clients include President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emile Bove, wrote that Judge Marchand should remove himself based on what they say are “real conflicts” in the case.
They also argued that the judge’s daughter’s work for the Democratic Party gave an “improper impression.”
“If the judge presiding over these cases had an adult child who worked for Winred or MAGA, that would be completely unacceptable to most New Yorkers,” the lawyers wrote, referring to two groups supporting Trump. It would be difficult,” he said.
“A person’s political views may not be a basis for refusal, but they have profited from promoting a political agenda hostile to President Trump, including soliciting fundraisers based on this incident.” ” the lawyers added.
The lawyers also included evidence that Lauren Marchan posted on her social media accounts the caption “Byyyeeeee” above a photo of the 77-year-old Trump leaving the White House on January 20, 2021.
This post was posted long before prosecutors began pursuing hush money cases and several years before Judge Marchand took on the case.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was not immediately available for comment Friday, but in a separate court filing this week argued that Trump is trying to rehash old claims without providing new evidence.
“There are no new facts here that would alter this court’s previous conclusion that there is nothing directly of benefit to Authentic or the families of this court, let alone this case,” prosecutors argued. .
On Monday, an expanded gag order, issued after prosecutors asked a court to suppress Trump’s “dangerous” and “violent” comments, would allow President Trump to denounce Marchand’s daughter. was also banned on Monday.
But President Trump nevertheless reposted several articles criticizing the judge’s daughter on his Truth Social page this week.
Courts have repeatedly struck down President Trump’s other attempts to delay the trial, which is expected to begin with jury selection on April 15 and last more than six weeks.
President Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records, each of which carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.
