Judge Again Declines To Recuse From Trump’s Case, Denies Daughter’s Alleged Kamala Harris Ties Create Conflict

Judge Juan Merchan again declined to recuse from former President Donald Trump’s New York case on Tuesday, denying that his daughter’s alleged ties to Vice President Kamala Harris create a conflict.

Merchan wrote Trump offered “nothing new” for the court to consider, but merely “repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts.” Trump, who was convicted in May on 34 counts for falsifying business records, has argued since before the start of his trial that Merchan should recuse from the case due to his daughter’s work at the political consulting firm Authentic Campaigns, which provides services to Democratic clients.

“This Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear — innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create,” Merchan wrote. “Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required.”

Trump’s attorneys wrote in a July 31 letter that Merchan’s daughter “has a long-standing relationship with Harris, including work for political campaigns.”

“She has obtained—and stands to obtain in the future extensive financial, professional, and personal benefits from her relationship with Harris,” his attorneys wrote.

“Although Authentic restricted its Twitter account following scrutiny of the recusal issue, the company’s public Twitter profile currently features Harris,” Trump’s attorneys continued. “According to public reports around July 29, 2024, Authentic’s founder—a partner and colleague of Your Honor’s daughter—leads a group called ‘White Dudes for Harris,’ which has raised millions of dollars for Harris’s current campaign against President Trump.”

District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office argued in an Aug 1 response that Trump’s attorneys identified “no new facts.”

“This regurgitated showing does not come close to meeting the standard to renew,” prosecutors wrote.