Judge presiding over Trump hush money case declines to recuse himself

The judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s hush money case has refused to resign after the 45th president’s lawyers asked for his removal from the court ahead of a trial that begins Monday.

“There is no agenda here,” Judge Juan Melchan said Monday before dismissing the request. new york times report.

“We want to follow the law,” he added. “We want justice to be done.”

Trump’s lawyers had asked Marchan to recuse himself from the case because his daughter works as a consultant for the Democratic Party. Trump also noted last month that Marchan’s daughter has represented Democratic politicians, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Representative Adam Schiff.

Trump calls hush money trial officially starting ‘an attack on America’

“Judge Juan Marchan (whose daughter is Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam Shifty Schiff, and other representatives of radical liberals), suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, is in prison. I just posted a photo of me. Now it’s another illegal move as they continue to try to strip me of my rights. and issued an un-American and unconstitutional ‘order,”’ Trump posted on Truth Social last month. He was under a gag order restricting his ability to speak publicly about the incident.

Jury selection begins, Trump’s hush money trial begins

Former President Donald Trump attends the first day of his trial in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 15, 2024 in New York City. (Angela Weiss/AFP, Associated Press, Pool)

Last year, Trump’s lawyers urged him to recuse himself, pointing to his daughter’s work and the small donations he had made to Democratic campaigns in the run-up to the 2020 election. The judge also denied the request for revocation because the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee determined that her daughter’s interests did not affect her ability to fairly oversee the case.

Answered 9 questions about the Trump trial

Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan criminal court on Monday, April 15, 2024 in New York. Former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial begins Monday with jury selection. It is a unique moment in American history, as it is the first criminal trial of a former commander-in-chief of the U.S. military. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Trump’s hush money trial began Monday morning, with the former president seen leaving Trump Tower and heading to Manhattan criminal court, where he denounced the case as “political persecution.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened before” in lower Manhattan, he said. “This is political persecution. … This is a case that should never have been brought.”

Trump added: “This is an attack on America, and that’s why I’m so proud to be here.” “This is truly an attack on a political opponent.”

Trump has been charged with 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. The case focuses on payments made by President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen to former porn actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. (Philip Farawan/Getty Images)

Trump has been charged with 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. The case focuses on payments made by President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen to former porn actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. The $130,000 payment was reportedly intended to quash claims that she had an affair with Trump in 2006.

Trump denies having an affair and has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges against him.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization paid Mr. Cohen and falsely recorded those payments as legal costs. Tampering with business records is a misdemeanor, and prosecutors are trying to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, a felony.

The case is expected to last at least six weeks, with jury selection alone expected to take at least a week.