Results for: Judge Juan Merchan

Michael Cohen’s admission of stealing $30,000 from the Trump Organization has dealt a major blow to the Trump hush money trial, exposing the weakness of the prosecution’s case. Cohen’s testimony has left the media reeling, with commentators wondering how they could have missed such a glaring piece of information. The revelation has also raised questions about the credibility of Cohen, who was previously seen as a key witness for the prosecution. With the trial nearing its end, it remains unclear whether Trump will be convicted, but the stolen $30,000 has cast a shadow over the proceedings and raised concerns about the fairness of the legal system.

Former President Donald Trump has slammed New York state court Judge Juan Merchan, calling him ‘highly conflicted’ and politically biased ahead of the testimony of Michael Cohen in the case against Trump. Trump has repeatedly accused Merchan of being biased against him, citing his daughter’s work as a political consultant for Democratic politicians. The case focuses on Cohen paying former adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair with Trump in 2006, which Trump has denied. Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses.

Former President Trump’s ongoing criminal trial has taken a turn with the judge imposing fines for gag order violations. Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9,000 and warned of potential jail time for future violations. Prosecutors allege Trump violated the order 14 times, while the Trump defense team maintains he was responding to attacks against him. Despite Trump’s claims of a rigged trial and a conflicted judge, the case continues with witness testimony resuming this morning.

In a significant development in the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan ruled that Trump violated the gag order imposed on him. The judge imposed a fine of $9,000 for each of the nine accusations against Trump, totaling $81,000. The gag order prohibited Trump from attacking witnesses, a restriction he repeatedly challenged as unfair and unconstitutional. Trump has been vocal in his criticism of the order, claiming that it suppresses his right to respond to attacks from individuals such as Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.

Former President Trump has been granted permission by the judge presiding over the NY v. Trump trial to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in Florida on May 17. The decision comes after Trump had pushed for weeks to attend the event, expressing his disappointment earlier this month at the prospect of missing it. The trial is currently in its ninth day, with Trump facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Despite objections from Trump, who called the case a “hoax” and the judge “badly conflicted,” the judge ruled that Trump could attend the graduation. It is unclear whether trial proceedings will be paused on May 17 or if Trump will simply be absent from the courtroom that day.

Judge Juan Merchan expressed frustration with Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s attempts to justify the former president’s apparent violations of a gag order. Blanche argued that Trump’s social media posts merely reflected others’ opinions, but Merchan questioned the passive nature of Trump’s account and the responsibility for selecting the shared articles. The judge also rejected Blanche’s suggestion that Trump could clarify his intentions by testifying, stating that Blanche had presented insufficient evidence. Despite Trump’s complaints about the gag order, prosecutors have not yet sought jail time as a sanction.

Former President Donald Trump has violated a gag order 10 times, according to prosecutors in his hush money trial. Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, argued that the former president did not violate the gag order by promoting an article that attacked witness Michael Cohen because he was merely passing along something said by someone else. However, Judge Juan Merchan expressed incredulity at this argument, saying, “Is your client saying he thought reposting couldn’t violate the gag order? You’ve presented nothing.” Trump’s company is also teetering on the verge of collapse if he cannot get a $450 million civil fraud ruling reversed, according to New York Times reporter Russ Buettner.

Former President Donald Trump has accused Judge Juan Merchan, presiding over his hush money trial, of having conflicts of interest and acting in accordance with the White House’s directives. Trump alleges that Merchan is expediting the trial to favor a Democrat-led prosecution and influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Prosecutors, however, have cited several instances of Trump violating a gag order imposed by Merchan, which restricts public statements about jurors and court staff but not about the case or the presiding judge.