Juan Merchan Judge in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial
The judge overseeing the hush-money criminal case against Donald Trump has crossed legal paths with the former president before.
In 2022, Justice Juan Manuel Merchan presided over the tax-fraud trial that led to the conviction of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer.
He is also the judge in the fraud and money laundering case against top Trump ally Steve Bannon.
But Mr Trump’s hush-money trial, which started yesterday, is the highest profile case of the judge’s 17 years on the bench.
Justice Merchan has overseen the former president’s case since he was indicted in April last year, including Mr Trump’s failed attempt to move the case to federal court, two attempts to have the judge recused from the case and numerous other attempts to delay proceedings.
He began his legal career in 1994 after graduating from Hofstra University School of Law.
Before being appointed a family court judge in 2006, he served in the New York County District Attorney’s Office and as an assistant attorney general in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Since 2009, he has presided over criminal matters while serving at the New York County Supreme Court.
After Mr Trump was arraigned, it emerged that Justice Merchan had donated $35 to the Democrats in 2020, including $15 to Joe Biden. The donations raised questions about his impartiality.
According to federal election records, Justice Merchan sent $15 to the Biden campaign, as well as two $10 contributions to the Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans.
Justice Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is the president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that has worked on digital fundraising and advertising for Democrat clients.
Her previous clients include Mr Biden and Adam Schiff, a Representative who led impeachment efforts against Mr Trump.
In a televised address from his Florida mansion of Mar-a-lago last April, Mr Trump accused the judge of having a “Trump-hating family” with ties to Kamala Harris.
His attacks against Ms Merchan on social media led Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, to request an expansion of the former president’s existing gag order to include the judge’s family.