Judge Juan Merchan’s integrity has been put into question following the discovery of his support for the Democratic Party. He will be the judge for Donald Trump’s trial.
As the most important trial of the XXI century unravels, questions about the integrity of those involved mount. Former US president Donald Trump will be tried before the New York Supreme Court in December, being indicted with over 34 criminal charges.
The trial is obviously extremely politicized. Donald Trump is currently the only official Republican candidate for the 2024 elections, though his reputation has obviously been scarred by the trial.
His charges involve misuse of campaign funds when he ran for president in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. Trump’s former lover, pornstar Stormy Daniels, threatened to disclose their relationship to the public, which would have essentially ended his campaign. To buy Daniels’ silence out, Trump allegedly paid her $130.000 of public funds destined to the campaign.
Were that to be true, it would constitute a felony under American federal law, with a maximum jail time of 4 years.
After winning in 2016, Donald Trump ran for a second term as president in 2020. He lost to Democrat candidate Joe Biden, throwing into question the fair nature of elections. Trump’s core followers believed his claims of rigged elections, and some even assaulted the Washington Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
Trump is obviously still very popular in the USA. His trial possesses a higher level of delicacy that those involved already started to feel first-handed.
Judge Juan Merchan
According to American news outlets, many have questioned the integrity of New York judge Juan Merchan, who will conduct the criminal procedure against Trump.
Juan Merchan is a supporter of the Democratic Party, having donated $35 to the Democrats in 2020 and $15 in support of Joe Biden’s campaign. Furthermore, Merchan’s daughter worked in current vice-president Kamala Harris’ staff.
Donald Trump already expressed Merchan’s hate for him several times. In a speech hours before his arrest, the former US president referred to judge Merchan as “Trump hating”.
In response, judge Merchan called for Trump to “please refrain from making comments or engaging in conduct that has the potential to incite violence, create civil unrest or jeopardize the safety or wellbeing of any individuals."
Nevertheless, the judge also denounced several death threats made against his person. On Trump’s own social network Truth, he also called his supporters to rise against the “rigged system”. These calls to action were defined as “potential death and destruction” by the District Attorney Assistant.
Donald Trump’s trial will likely be the most followed criminal procedure of this century, if not of all time. The overall climate within the American public becomes increasingly polarized as the nation approaches next year’s general elections.
