Former President Donald Trump, fuming over an expanded gag order, is repeating his calls for a New York judge to recuse himself from the hush money trial that will begin in less than two weeks.
Mr. Trump said Judge Juan Merchan of the New York State Supreme Court is preventing him from speaking about “the corruption and conflicts taking place in his courtroom.”
“They can talk about me, but I can’t talk about them??? That sounds fair, doesn’t it?” Mr. Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. “This Judge should be recused, and the case should be thrown out.”
Mr. Trump lashed out after Judge Merchan expanded a gag order to prohibit comments about his daughter, Loren Merchan, a Democratic political consultant. The former president attacked the daughter online, saying she tries to “Get Trump” for a living.
“This pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose,” Judge Merchan wrote. “It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings that not only they, but their family members as well, are ‘fair game,’ for Defendant’s vitriol.”
Mr. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Trump paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and two others on the cusp of the 2016 campaign but falsified records to make it look like he was paying his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, says she had a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump nearly two decades ago.
Mr. Trump denies the claim and pleaded not guilty to the charges, which he has cast as part of a broad plot to thwart his presidential campaign as the presumptive GOP nominee.
“There has virtually never been a more conflicted judge than this one. ELECTION INTERFERENCE at its worst!” Mr. Trump wrote.
Separately, Mr. Trump posted late Monday a $175 million bond to avoid asset forfeiture while he appealed a judgment, plus interest, of about $464 million in a civil case that found his real estate business liable for financial fraud.
A California insurer, Knight Specialty Insurance Co., posted the bond as a pledge to cover some of the judgment if Mr. Trump loses his appeal and cannot pay.
Previously, Mr. Trump had to post a nearly $92 million bond while he appealed a civil jury award against him for defamation against former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Mr. Trump says he wanted to use the cash for his campaign but the judge in the real estate case, Arthur Engeron, thwarted his plans.
“He ruled I was guilty before he ever saw the case. He should be disbarred, and [New York Attorney General] Letitia James, who campaigned on getting TRUMP, Impeached,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. “Also posted a 91 Million Dollar Bond on another New York Fake Case, money I can’t use on my campaign. Just what Crooked Joe wanted.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.