Trump lawyer Jesse Binnall claimed on Breitbart News Daily that the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal case, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, has made donations to President Biden.
In a discussion about the case concerning Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who filed 34 felony charges against Trump, alleging he falsified business records regarding a “hush money” payment to Stormy Daniels, Binnall pointed out that the entire case “is based on the word of Michael Cohen,” an “admitted perjurer.”
“That’s the kind of the best they have. That’s what they’re building their case around is someone who … has lied to courts and factually, this case is just absolutely baseless,” he said, reminding listeners that Judge Merchan is a Biden donor.
“Let’s remember that Judge Merchan is a Biden donor. Let’s remember that his family has a vested financial interest in this case, or … the fact that the case is ongoing. They’re going to try to drag this case out I think as long as possible in order to affect the presidential election,” Binnall added.
Certainly, Judge Merchan contributed to three Democratic campaigns in 2020, potentially prompting an ethics investigation.
When questioned about the permissibility of judges making political donations, Binnall stated that it simply isn’t allowed.
“There are very specific instances when judges are supposed to take themselves off cases,” he explained, noting that this is “most important” when there was either bias by the judge or the appearance of bias against a criminal defendant.
“And that person is entitled to a blank slate before the trial starts. And judge who can’t do that, the judge who comes into it with a preconceived notion about a defendant should recuse himself from the case,” he said, noting that this is a “remarkable” instance “where a judge donated to the candidate’s political opponent.”
“I’ve never known a judge before who’s made a political donation while he’s been on the bench. It is highly unusual for judges even to make political donations. But the fact that he did make a political donation, showing where his political allegiances lie, and then staying on a case that is having a huge impact on a presidential election is extremely improper,” he said.
“Not just because it shows that he’s biased, it shows his appearance of partiality, and we in this country have lived for about 250 years under the rule of law. These decisions are made based on law, not men, not based on individual people’s political beliefs as far as in our legal system, and that’s something that is going to be thrown completely into doubt now, because you have a judge who has decided that he wants to be on this case so badly … that he refused to recuse himself,” he said noting that it is good for the judge that the case is “ongoing” due to his daughter, as “the company that she worked for has raised millions and millions of dollars on it.”
“And so it’s something that his family member as a direct … moneyed interest in, and again, something that is, at the very least shows the appearance of impropriety here,” Binnall added.
“He’s putting our entire judicial system really into jeopardy by his failure to simply obey the canons of judicial conduct,” Binnall concluded.
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