Judge in Trump's N.Y. hush-money case denies request to recuse himself

Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The New York judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's hush-money case on Monday declined to recuse himself after Trump's attorneys accused him of harboring bias against their client.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan wrote in an five-page ruling that he is "certain" of his ability "to be fair and impartial" in the case, in which Trump has been accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Trump has denounced the case as politically motivated and his lawyers sought to have Merchan recuse himself based on several perceived conflicts of interest. They said he is biased because his daughter owns a digital marketing company with ties to Democratic Party candidates and that the judge, himself, has contributed small amounts to Democratic political campaigns.

They also accused of him acting with bias in a previous Trump-related case he oversaw in which the Trump Organization and one of its top executives, Allen Weisselberg, were convicted of tax fraud.

Merchan, however, countered that the Trump team "has failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic, reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required" on the points relating to his daughter.

In his ruling, Merchan cited an opinion of the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics issued in May in which the board wrote that it saw no connection between any outcome of hush-money case and the success or failure of the daughter's business interests.

Merchan similarly cited any lack of real evidence on the other grounds for recusal, siding with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which had opposed the requests based on what prosecutors called "no arguments that fairly raise any actual or perceived conflict of interest or preconceived bias."

Trump is being investigated for his role in the payment of at least $130,000, delivered by former attorney Michael Cohen, to Daniels during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. The payment was meant to keep Daniels quiet about an alleged affair, Cohen has said. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

Cohen is among several current or former Trump allies to have testified to a grand jury in the case, which is currently scheduled to go to trial in May.

The New York prosecution is one of three indictments Trump has received in recent months. He already is facing federal criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith for 2020 election interference and his possession of classified documents.

A fourth indictment likely is coming this week in Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is investigating Trump's attempts to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory in the state.