Judge rejects Donald Trump’s latest demand to step aside from hush money criminal case

Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.

In a decision posted on Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s demand was a rehash “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims” about the political ties of Merchan’s daughter and his ability to judge the historic case fairly and impartially.

It is the third time that the judge has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee.

All three times, they argued that Merchan, a state court judge in Manhattan, has a conflict of interest because of his daughter’s work as a political consultant for prominent Democrats and campaigns. Among them was Vice-President Kamala Harris when she sought the 2020 nomination for president. She is now her party’s 2024 White House nominee.

A state court ethics panel said last year that Merchan could continue on the case, writing that a relative’s independent political activities are not “a reasonable basis to question the judge’s impartiality”.

Merchan has repeatedly said he is certain he will continue to base his rulings “on the evidence and the law, without fear or favour, casting aside undue influence”.