The judge presiding over the lawsuit brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg against former President Donald Trump has some major political dirt that has been closely examined. In total, 34 counts of business fraud and claimed hush money payments to Stormy Daniels to conceal an affair are being brought against Trump.
But according to Federal Election Commission records, Judge Juan Merchan reportedly gave three times to the Democratic Party in the months prior to the hotly contested 2020 election. The announcement is drawing some criticism from the public since the judge in the case against the former president appears to be politically biased, according to the case’s detractors.
Trump has maintained his innocence and entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment earlier this week, even though he faces more than 100 years in prison if proven guilty on all counts. Trump’s lawsuit as well as the one against Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon are being presided over by Merchan.
According to FEC records, Merchan contributed to the Democratic Party over the course of two days using their fundraising website ActBlue. The total amount of the payments was $35. The three donations were each marked uniquely. A few of them say, “EARMARKED FOR STOP REPUBLICANS,” “EARMARKED FOR PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT,” and “EARMARKED FOR BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT.”
According to reports, Merchan’s daughter worked first on Biden’s campaign and then on Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential bid. Merchan is the president of Authentic Campaigns, a “progressive digital firm” that has worked for Harris and later Joe Biden, and is also active in other Democratic projects.
The judge’s affiliation with Democrats has drawn criticism from Trump, who said that the judge belongs to “a family of well-known Trump haters.”
