Trump slams Merchan and calls for his dismissal

In a statement released on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump reaffirmed his criticisms of Judge Juan Merchan. 

The former president also sought an appeals court to remove him from the prosecution of him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly manipulating company documents, as Just The News reported.

Michael Cohen, who was Trump's attorney at the time, made a payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016. Bragg has filed charges against Trump in relation to this payment.

Trump's Plea

Trump has entered a plea of not guilty and has made two separate requests to Merchan, whom he has accused of having a conflict of interest, to step down from his position. It has been refused twice by Merchan.

"The problem is that this Judge, Merchan, is TOTALLY COMPROMISED, CONFLICTED, AND CORRUPT, MAKING BIG MONEY OFF OF THIS SCAM AND ITS OUTCOME," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

"He can’t render a fair decision, too much is at stake for him and the Democrats. The Appellate Division should remove him immediately!"

Trump attributed the case's progression to Merchan, before highlighting that "[v]irtually every Legal Analyst and Scholar said yesterday, at the end of the day, THAT THERE IS NO CASE, AND THAT THIS WITCH HUNT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BROUGHT, AND SHOULD BE THROWN OUT NOW!!!"

"WHY WASN’T THIS HOAX BROUGHT SEVEN YEARS AGO, INSTEAD OF IN THE MIDDLE OF MY WINNING CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT — ELECTION INTERFERENCE," he concluded.

Complaints About the Judge

Loren Merchan, Merchan's daughter, works for Authentic, which has President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as clients, according to Trump.

The allegations against Trump are connected to a hush money payment that was made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal prior to the election in 2016.

According to Just The News, throughout the proceedings, the prosecutors said that President Trump had made statements and posts on social media that were called out as "threatening" during the time leading up to the arraignment.

The questions that were asked by reporters were ignored by Trump as he departed the courthouse, reiterating his mistrust of the mainstream media, which was a theme throughout his presidency.