Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) believes the judge overseeing former president Donald Trump’s “hush-money” criminal trial possesses conflicts of interest warranting investigation.
Stefanik is filing an ethics complaint on Tuesday against acting New York supreme court justice Juan Merchan on the basis of his partisan allegiances and his daughter’s career as a Democratic strategist.
“Judge Merchan appears driven by Democrat partisanship and financial gain for his daughter,” Stefanik wrote in a complaint to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct. She is requesting an investigation into Merchan and potential disciplinary action depending on the commission’s findings.
“These proceedings are under a microscope. Judge Merchan’s clear conflict of interest, based upon his adult daughter’s financial state in this unprecedented criminal trial, has badly damaged the court’s appearance of impartiality,” the complaint adds.
Merchan’s daughter’s Democratic clients have fundraised substantially off Trump’s criminal trial, Stefanik’s complaint notes. If Trump is convicted, it could generate a major financial benefit to her clients.
Judge Merchan’s expansive gag order against Trump prevents the former president from criticizing Merchan’s daughter, but it does not apply to Trump’s political allies, many of whom have appeared at Trump’s trial to express support for him.
“The naked corruption on display in Judge Merchan’s courtroom isn’t only a threat to President Trump, but a threat to our justice system and democracy. It is election interference for financial gain and cannot be tolerated. Judge Merchan should have recused himself, but since he’s refused, he must be held accountable for his judicial misconduct,” Stefanik told NR in a statement.
Trump is the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, and he is being prosecuted by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to reimbursements sent to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen after he paid porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The prosecution is pursuing felony charges against Trump for allegedly concealing underlying crimes, although federal prosecutors are not going after Trump for any federal campaign finance crimes.
Brad Smith, a former Federal Election Commission official, defended Trump on X after the defense decided against having him testify due to restrictive guidelines from Merchan.
Bragg is an elected Democrat, and one of his line prosecutors previously received payments from the Democratic National Committee. Another prosecutor in Bragg’s office has a history of donating to Democrats. The judge himself donated to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. Trump routinely accuses Bragg of waging election interference against him for partisan purposes.
Daniels alleges she and Trump had an extramarital affair in 2006, a claim Trump denies. She gave testimony during the criminal trial about Trump’s alleged sexual intercourse with her, details not particularly relevant to the criminal charges. Much of the prosecution’s case against Trump is based on a supposed conspiracy to suppress damaging information on Trump throughout the 2016 election cycle.
Cohen is a disbarred former attorney who previously pleaded guilty to financial crimes and perjury. Nonetheless, he was the prosecution’s star witness and admitted to stealing from Trump while he was Trump’s fixer. Trump’s defense team pressed Cohen on his criminal record and sudden shift from being a member of Trump’s inner circle to believing he should be imprisoned.
The defense rested Tuesday morning, and closing arguments will be delivered next week.