Donald Trump loses third bid to remove Judge Juan Merchan from hush money case
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(NEW YORK) — An exasperated Judge Juan Merchan, in a scathing order released Wednesday morning, denied former President Donald Trump’s third attempt to kick the judge off his New York criminal hush money case based on an alleged conflict of interest.
“Stated plainly, Defendant’s arguments are nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims,” Merchan wrote in the three-page order.
Earlier this month, Trump’s lawyers attempted to argue that Vice President Kamala Harris’ position as the Democratic nominee for president created a conflict of interest for Merchan based on the judge’s daughter’s work as a political consultant, rehashing an argument that Merchan denied twice in the past.
Merchan described Trump’s third attempt at recusal as “nothing more than an attempt to air grievances against this court’s rulings,” and criticized defense attorneys for repeating “inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims.”
“Defendant has provided nothing new for this Court to consider,” Merchan wrote. “Counsel has merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts. Defense Counsel’s reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing.”
Merchan also criticized defense attorneys for raising issues with the remaining provisions of the case’s limited gag order, which earlier this month was affirmed by a mid-level appeals court in New York.
“It is therefore difficult to rationalize how Defense Counsel can, in good faith, claim the Order is unconstitutional,” Merchan wrote.
Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election. He has said he will appeal the decision.
With the recusal motion denied, Merchan is expected to issue a decision next month on Trump’s motion to have the case thrown out based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity ruling. In a landmark decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump has presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.
Sentencing in the hush money case is still scheduled for Sept. 18.
“As has been the standard throughout the pendency of this case, this court will continue to base its rulings on the evidence and the law, without fear or favor, casting aside undue influence,” Merchan wrote in Wednesday’s order.
(NEW YORK) — New York Magazine placed its Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, on leave this week after it learned she allegedly “had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign,” the outlet said in a statement.
According to the news outlet Status, the relationship was allegedly with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate who suspended his campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
In its statement, New York Magazine did not name Kennedy, and a spokeswoman for the outlet did not respond to an ABC News request to confirm that he is in fact the subject in question.
But in statements, neither Nuzzi nor a Kennedy representative denied Status’ reporting that Kennedy was involved.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” Nuzzi said in a statement. “During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
Stefanie Spear, a Kennedy spokeswoman, told ABC News in a statement, “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
Spear did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Kennedy denies the allegation of a romantic relationship.
A profile by Nuzzi of Kennedy, in which she hiked with the candidate near his southern California home, published in November.
At the time, Kennedy had recently dropped his Democratic presidential bid to run as an independent and was polling promisingly in swing states.
But a cash shortage and a wave of unflattering headlines blunted his campaign.
Kennedy is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, who has not commented publicly on the alleged relationship.
Nuzzi’s ex-fiancée, Ryan Lizza, Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent, wrote in the Friday’s “Playbook” newsletter, “Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancee, my editors and I have agreed that I won’t be involved in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at POLITICO.”
(NEW YORK) — Sen. JD Vance affirmed former President Donald Trump’s assertion that the vice presidential pick doesn’t matter to the vast majority of voters. However, Vance stressed he’s “absolutely” sure Trump is confident he could step up as commander in chief if needed.
“Trump was asked recently very directly, ‘Would you be ready to be president on day one’ … Are you ready?” “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked as part of a wide-ranging interview that will air in full Sunday morning.
“He made it the main focus of his vetting process, is, ‘Do I think this person can be president on day one if, God forbid, something happens?’ Yes,” Vance said.
The Ohio senator said voters are more focused on the candidates at the top of the ticket instead of the vice presidential pick.
“They’re voting for Donald Trump or for Kamala Harris, not for JD or Tim Walz,” he said. “I also think that he’s right that the politics of this really don’t matter that much.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump, in his first rally since the most recent apparent assassination attempt, painted a bleak picture of his hometown of New York City at a raucous rally just miles away in the suburbs of Long Island and painted his Democratic opponents as a “threat to democracy.”
In the appearance before thousands at Nassau Coliseum, Trump also vowed to visit the city of Springfield, Ohio — a town he has repeatedly targeted with falsehoods about the Haitian population there eating “pets,” despite assertions from officials, including the state’s Republican governor that they are untrue. He said he would visit in the next two weeks.
Trump’s pointed comment about Democrats came as he and his surrogates have repeated that rhetoric from his opponents about him being a threat to democracy was responsible for the attempts on his life.
Trump’s reason for his Long Island rally on Wednesday night was to appeal to voters in New York, a blue state. Wednesday night’s event was Trump’s second rally in the state, on top of the multiple campaign stops he made in between his court appearances for his New York civil fraud trial.
As he addressed the crowd, Trump said a Harris win in November would turn New York “into a third-world country, if it isn’t already.”
Trump has often claimed during this campaign that crime has been on the rise in New York City and other metropolitan areas. But those claims appear to be at odds with data collected separately by the FBI and New York City officials.
The city has recorded 11% fewer murders this year compared to 2023, according to data released this week by the mayor and police commissioner. Total violent crime complaints, including murder, rape and robbery, have fallen in New York City by almost 3% this year and about 81% over the last 31 years, according to the data.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in June that the most recent national crime data collected by the FBI made clear that a “historic decline in violent crime is continuing.”
Trump on Wednesday thanked law enforcement that thwarted an apparent assassination attempt on him on Sunday and praised the woman who captured a picture of the suspect’s vehicle, saying he’d like to meet her.
Then he turned to his Democratic opponent, “the radical left Democrat politicians and the fake news media.”
“The message is it’s time to stop the lies, stop the hoaxes, stop the smears, stop the lawfare or the fake lawsuits against me, and stop claiming your opponents will turn America into a dictatorship,” Trump said. “Give me a break. Because the fact is that I’m not a threat to democracy. They are.”
He also pledged to restore SALT (state and local deductions), which his 2017 tax cut capped at $10,000.
Outside the Coliseum ahead of Trump’s event, vendors lined up selling various Trump merchandise. The celebration, which included music blaring through speakers, featured golden cars with Trump’s face on the front and bedazzled Trump jackets. Trump’s campaign claimed that 60,000 tickets were requested, which would make it one of Trump’s largest rallies during this campaign cycle.
The line for attendees stretched around the building hours before doors opened.
Trump’s rally was on the same day he was initially scheduled to be sentenced in his New York civil fraud trial. The judge in the case delayed his sentencing from Sept. 18 until Nov. 26 — after the presidential election.
Ahead of his Wednesday rally, Trump worked to court New Yorkers by promising to reverse a tax policy he signed into law in 2017. In a post on his social media platform, Trump claimed he would “get SALT back,” suggesting eliminating the cap on state and local tax deductions. In his 2017 tax law, Trump capped deductions at $10,000.
A majority of New York’s congressional Republican delegation has been pushing to reverse the SALT deduction cap on Capitol Hill, spearheading the ongoing debate around the issue.
However, while many local Republicans have celebrated Trump’s posture change, it also comes as he has recently rolled out a series of tax breaks, raising concerns about significant increases to the deficit.
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE? VOTE FOR TRUMP! I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more,” the former president posted on his social media network ahead of his Wednesday rally.
In May, Trump pledged to turn New York red during a campaign rally in deep-blue South Bronx, New York, attempting to court the Hispanic and Black voters that make up a majority of the area’s population.
“We have levels of support that nobody’s seen before … Don’t assume it doesn’t matter just because you live in a blue city. You live in a blue city, but it’s going red very, very quickly,” Trump said at the time.
The Trump campaign has worked to court New Yorkers this campaign cycle, attempting to at least pull enthusiasm away from Democrats and help make down-ballot races more competitive.
Trump on Wednesday also repeated false claims about the mostly legal immigrants living in Springfield, where he says he’ll be holding a campaign stop soon, going on to suggest he could may not back alive from the visit.
“I’m going to go there in the next two weeks. I’m going to Springfield and I’m going to Aurora. You may never see me again, but that’s okay. Got to do what I got to do. Whatever happened to Trump? ‘Well, he never got out of Springfield.'”
“We’re going to take those violent people and we’re going to ship them back to their country, and if they come back in, they’re going to pay a hell of a price,” Trump said, alluding to the Haitian residents who are mainly either legally authorized to live and work in the U.S. or are protected from expulsion by law.
Trump also again falsely suggested that schools were being heavily occupied by children who don’t speak English, suggesting the mayor should just kick them out.
“So the mayor of Springfield, and I think he’s a very nice person, but instead of saying, we’re getting them all out, we’re getting them out, he says very simply, we’re hiring teachers to teach them English. Can you believe it? We are hiring interpreters,” Trump said, making an unsupported claim.
This is also his first large-scale campaign rally after an apparent assassination attempt on Trump while he was golfing in West Palm Beach on Sunday. The day prior, Trump held a town hall where nearly 4,000 Michigan voters attended; the Nassau rally is expected to be four times the size.
Trump had also made multiple smaller campaign stops in New York City before and after his mandated court appearance throughout his seven-week hush money payment criminal trial earlier this year to highlight several campaign messaging at each stop.
In mid-April, he visited a small bodega in Harlem that was the scene of a fatal stabbing two years earlier to highlight what he claimed was the failure of Democratic prosecutors in New York to ensure public safety as they prosecute him. Later that month, he visited a construction site in midtown Manhattan to boast support from union workers and working-class voters.
