New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan responded to Donald Trump‘s motion he recuse himself from overseeing the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president on day one of the trial. Trump is facing 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records in what’s been called an election interference cover-up case alleging he paid an adult film actress “hush money” then attempted to hide those payments to protect his 2016 presidential campaign.
Judge Merchan “fiercely” and “defiantly” pushed back against Trump’s allegations, MSNBC’s Vaughn Hillyard reported Monday as the trial began (video below).
“Merchan says it’s the opinion of the court that Trump is using a ‘series of inferences, innuendos and unsupported speculation’ to make his claims for recusal,” according to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
Denying Trump’s motion, Judge Merchan included his response in what he called “loose ends,” and blasted what be labeled the “offensive” allegations made by Trump and his attorneys, as The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports.
READ MORE: ‘Scared to Death’: GOP Ex-Congressman Brings Hammer Down on ‘Weak’ Trump
“Not a good start for Trump,” Lowell begins, noting the judge also said he has no agenda.
Speaking to the allegations in Trump’s recusal motion, Lowell reports in a series of posts on social media that “Merchan starts w his recent interview w AP, which Trump complained about, in which he explicitly said he wouldn’t discuss the case. He then tells Trump that his complaints do not ‘reasonably or logically’ explain how these statements reflect bias.”
Lowell adds that Judge Merchan “then moves on to his daughter’s podcast interview from 2019, in which she said he disliked politicians using Twitter. Merchan says that does not reflect a bias against any party. Trump’s second recusal motion is DENIED.”
“There is no basis for recusal,” Merchan said from the bench, according to MSNBC executive producer Kyle Griffin.
Watch below or at this link.
READ MORE: ‘Staged Photo Op’ of Trump With Black Chick-fil-A Patrons Was ‘True Retail Politics’ Says Fox News