Former President Donald Trump alleged on social media that the Biden administration is coordinating with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Trump's hush-money case.
"Judge Juan Merchan, perhaps the most highly conflicted Judge in New York State history, only gave us a short period of time to read and study hundreds of thousands of pages of documents that D.A. Alvin Bragg illegally hid, disguised, and held back from us," Trump wrote on Sunday.
"Of course, and as the Judge knows, we need far more time than that. They could have started this Fake Biden Trial many years ago, not right in the middle of my campaign for President, and time would not be a problem.
"This is a blatant and unprecedented attack on Crooked Joe Biden's Political Opponent (who is leading in every poll!), done in close coordination with the White House, that cannot be allowed to go forward!"
On April 2, ABC News reported that Trump's lawyers had filed again to have Merchan removed from the case after attempting to do so last year. The basis of the previous request was Merchan's political contributions of $35 to Democrats in 2020, which included a $15 donation to President Joe Biden.
Additionally, the lawyers cited Merchan's overseeing of the 2022 Trump Organization trial and his daughter's work as a political consultant.
According to New York's rules of judicial conduct, judges are prohibited from "making a contribution to a political organization or candidate."
Merchan refused to recuse himself in an August 2023 ruling, stating that "this Court has examined its conscience and is certain in its ability to be fair and impartial." He has not ruled on this month's filing.
Loren Merchan, Judge Merchan's daughter, served as president and partner at Authentic Campaigns, which has worked for numerous Democrat clients.
The firm's past as well as current clients include Biden's 2020 presidental campaign; Vice President Kamala Harris' 2020 presidential campaign; the pro-Democrat super PAC Senate Majority PAC; and the current Senate campaign of Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who was censured in the House for his propogation of Russiagate.
Speaking on his daughter's work, Merchan added that Trump's defense "has failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required on these grounds. The speculative and hypothetical scenarios offered by defendant fall well short of the legal standard."
Jury selection in the trial begins Monday.