He may seize on public records which show that, during the 2020 presidential election, Merchan donated $15 to the Democratic group Act Blue earmarked for Trump’s opponent, Joe Biden, as well as $10 each for two other Democratic groups, including one called Stop Republicans.īefore he was arraigned, Trump attacked Merchan by his full name: Juan Manuel Merchan. People familiar with Trump’s thinking say he believes he can get the judge to recuse himself. The former president often suggests judges hearing cases are too biased to continue, as he has with Merchan. Longtime associates recall Trump invoking Roy Cohn, his former fixer and lawyer, when arguing about the importance of the judge in charge of any case. One person who knows the judge said his chambers have been flooded with calls of support from colleagues and others, as well as angry calls from supporters of the former president, and many of those calls have included threats.įor decades, Trump has taken a keen interest in the judges presiding over civil cases that have involved him. Merchan has been under the protection of armed court officers at least since the grand jury voted to indict Trump on March 30, according to a person familiar with the arrangements. “The judge can put him in jail but that would absolutely be the last resort, because it would just make matters worse,” Kamins said. But experts said the possibility of that happening is very slim. If Merchan were to find Trump in contempt of court, he would have the power to fine the former president up to $1,000, or even to jail him for 30 days. When prosecutors raised the subject of the social media posts from Trump, Merchan’s response - asking Trump’s legal team to warn the former president against making such comments - seemed to reflect the judge’s intention to exercise his authority in stages. Trump, because he is a candidate for the presidency of the United States.” “Such restraints are the most serious and least tolerable on First Amendment rights. “Certainly, the court would not impose a gag order at this time even if it were requested,” Merchan said during Trump’s arraignment. Judges are usually hesitant to impose such orders and do so only to prohibit specific types of speech. One of those, raised in advance of Tuesday’s hearing by some of Trump’s associates, could be a gag order, a catchall term for an order limiting what a defendant - or often a defendant’s lawyer - can say to the public. Only if the former president continued to lash out might he think about harsher punishments. He could admonish Trump or ask that the former president return to court in person earlier than Dec. If he were to violate such an order, he could be held in contempt of court, McCaw said.īut Trump’s defense lawyers have since decided that they’re going to oppose the proposed order, and the matter likely will be subject to litigation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.Ĭurrent and former judges said that Merchan, who has been on the bench in New York state Supreme Court since 2009, would almost certainly take other steps before he even considered placing Trump in contempt of court. Prosecutors are seeking to bar him from reviewing the material without his lawyers present, and from sharing the material with third parties, including the press or his social media following. On Tuesday, one of the prosecutors, Catherine McCaw, said that her team was in talks with Trump’s lawyers over a draft protective order that would limit how the former president uses evidence and other case material shared with his lawyers. Obus, a judge who served in State Supreme Court for more than two decades and who has known Merchan for about 14 years.Īlthough judges often act on their own accord, they sometimes exercise their powers over a defendant after prosecutors ask them to do so. “I am sure Justice Merchan wants to avoid a real confrontation, if that is humanly possible, but he will want to assert the authority of the court,” said Michael J. E-Pilot Evening Edition Home Page Close Menuīut judges have significant power over defendants who appear before them, and Merchan would have several means of disciplining Trump, if he deems it necessary.
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