The New York judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case donated $35 to Democrats in 2020, public records show.
State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan is presiding over the case against Trump related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. Merchan, who is also presiding over a separate case against former Trump aide Steve Bannon and oversaw a suit against the Trump Organization, made a $15 donation to President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign in late July of that year, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
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One day later, Merchan donated $20 split evenly between two Democratic groups, Stop Republicans and the Progressive Turnout Project, filings show.
Neither Merchan nor the state court system have responded to requests for comment on the donations, which Trump’s team could seize on to get the judge to recuse himself from the case.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump last week on charges related to the hush money matter, marking the first time a former U.S. president has been criminally charged.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, testified before Congress in 2019 that he paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to prevent her from going public about an affair she claimed to have with Trump in 2005. Cohen, who pleaded guilty and served time over the alleged payment, told lawmakers Trump reimbursed him in monthly installments.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charges. He has also made targets of Merchan and Bragg on social media while condemning the charges as unserious and politically motivated.
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Merchan’s and Bragg’s teams said they received “dozens” of threats in the 24 hours after a Manhattan grand jury approved the indictment, though it is unclear if Trump airing his litany of grievances with the two men sparked any of those incidents.
Trump and prosecutors were warned during his arraignment Tuesday about publicly discussing the case in a manner that could incite violence or unrest, but Merchan said he would not place a gag order on the former president.
