Federal Election Commission records show that Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial, appears to be solidly in the progressive Democrat camp.
Since 2020, Merchan has given several small-dollar donations through Act Blue, the Democratic Party’s most popular fundraising platform.
On July 26, 2020 the judge contributed $15 earmarked for “Biden for President” campaign and then made $10 donations to the Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans the next day.
The group Stop Republicans describes itself on its website as “an accountability campaign of Progressive Turnout Project … dedicated to resisting the Republican Party and Donald Trump’s radical right-wing legacy.”
Experts don’t hold out hope that the presiding judge in Trump’s trial will push back against @ManhattanDA‘s prosecutorial overreach or corruption. Judge Juan Merchan a Columbian immigrant is a lifelong Democrat who has privately and publicly expressed his hatred of Trump. pic.twitter.com/oUMIUQgO0S
— @amuse (@amuse) March 31, 2023
So Merchan’s dollar amount may not be much, but that certainly shows where his loyalties lie, not just as a Democrat, but apparently as a strongly anti-Trump one.
That’s clearly the way Trump feels about his assignment to the case.
The 45th president posted on TruthSocial in March 31, “The Judge ‘assigned’ to my Witch Hunt Case, a ‘Case’ that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME.”
“His name is Juan Manuel Marchan, was hand picked by [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who ‘railroaded’ my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a ‘plea’ deal (Plead GUILTY, even if you are not, 90 DAYS, fight us in Court, 10 years (life!) in jail. He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didn’t ‘plead,’ VICIOUSLY. APPEALING!” Trump added.
The Manhattan DA’s office announced in August that Weisselberg pleaded guilty to “evading payment of taxes due on $1.76 million in unreported income” over a 15-year period.
“Instead of paying his fair share like everyone else, Weisselberg had the Trump Organization provide him with a rent-free apartment, expensive cars, private school tuition for his grandchildren and new furniture – all without paying required taxes,” Bragg said at the time.
“The Court promised Weisselberg a sentence of five months in jail to be served on Rikers Island and five years’ probation, contingent on Weisselberg testifying truthfully in the upcoming criminal trial of the Trump Organization,” the DA’s news release said.
So it looks like another “get Trump” effort, leveraging tax law in the endeavor. It was the same tactic the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors used, in part, in the Paul Manafort case, though it didn’t net them the testimony fingering Trump on Russian collusion they wanted.
And Merchan, as the presiding judge, was reportedly “heavily involved” in the negotiations that led to Weisselberg’s guilty plea, according to WABC-TV.
“Weisselberg testified against the Trump Organization at trial last year — but reportedly did not cooperate with District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s grand jury probe,” the New York Post said.
WABC-TV noted that former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is also on Merchan’s docket. Bannon is charged with fraud over a fundraising effort he was involved with to build a southern border wall.
So that’s at least three Trump-related cases.
Also worth noting, Newsweek reported that Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is president of Authentic Campaigns, whose clients have included rabid anti-Trumper Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Biden-Harris campaign and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Trump pointed out this issue in a post on TruthSocial earlier this week.
So yes, there are plenty of reasons to question whether Merchan can fairly oversee Trump’s trial.
He should recuse himself immediately; and further, the entire case should be thrown out as a partisan witch hunt.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
