Despite a history of rulings against the businessman-turned-associates, politician’s acting New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan will preside over the hush money prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
The former president will appear in court in New York City on Tuesday afternoon for an arraignment in connection with alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle.
Many critics have labeled the case as politically motivated, citing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s reputation for being soft on crime, particularly violent offenses.
In a post to his social media platform Truth Social last week, Trump claimed that Merchan was “hand-picked” by Bragg to preside over the case and that Merchan “hates” him.
On Tuesday morning, another all-caps post on Truth Social claimed that Merchan is “highly partisan” and that his family is made up of “well-known Trump haters.”
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According to the Associated Press, Merchan, a Colombian-born immigrant who moved to the United States as a 6-year-old, earned a law degree from Hofstra University in 1994. Before being appointed as a family court judge by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2006, he worked in the state attorney general’s office.
Merchan has served on the New York Supreme Court as an acting justice since 2009.
Merchan issued a decision against the Trump Organization earlier this year, finding the real estate conglomerate guilty of 17 charges stemming from a multi-year tax evasion scheme in which the company distributed various gifts and perks to executives. He fined the company $1.6 million, the maximum allowed by law.
Allen Weisselberg, the company’s former chief financial officer, agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors and testified against the company during the trial.
After pleading guilty to 15 criminal charges at the end of last year, Merchan sentenced the 75-year-old to five months in prison, which he is currently serving.
“Having heard the evidence, I believe a stiffer sentence would be appropriate,” Merchan said, according to POLITICO.
Trump will reportedly face 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, all of which are the lowest-level felonies in the state but each of which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Merchan denied a request for video coverage by a coalition of news outlets, but he will allow photographers to take still photos of the 76-year-old Trump before his arraignment on Tuesday.
Merchan could also issue a gag order to Trump, preventing the former commander-in-chief and current presidential candidate from discussing the details of the contentious case. On Tuesday night, Trump plans to give a speech about the arraignment.
Trump has also accused Bragg of “prosecutorial misconduct” and referred to him as an “animal.”
He also drew attention to the funds donated by leftist billionaire George Soros to various advocacy groups that supported Bragg’s candidacy.
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Soros, who has previously boasted about his efforts to fund the campaigns of progressive district attorneys, denied any connection to Bragg last week.
Trump is also being investigated in three other criminal cases: a federal investigation into his efforts to stay in power after the 2020 election, a Georgia investigation into alleged meddling in the 2020 election, and another federal investigation into his handling of government records after leaving office.
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