Elise Stefanik files ‘misconduct complaint’ against Judge Merchan

by Jessica Marie Baumgartner

Photo: Alamy

Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan has been slapped with a misconduct complaint.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., filed the official complaint regarding Merchan’s assignment to three cases linked to President Trump, including the ongoing “hush money” trial in New York, the criminal trial of former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, and the 2022 criminal trial of the Trump Organization. Stefanik also cited Merchan’s alleged donations to the opposing Democrat party and the Biden campaign. 

Stefanik posted the entire complaint to X, which addressed Kay-Ann Porter Campbell, the Inspector General of the New York State Unified Court System.

Other justices, employees of the Supreme Court, Criminal Term, and New York County are also named in the complaint. 

She called for an investigation into Merchan’s assignment related to the trial of the Trump Organization and Steve Bannon, who formerly served as a Trump White House senior advisor.

Rep. Stefanik argued that, pursuant to Section 200.11(c) of the Uniform Rules for New York State Trial Courts, a judge should be selected randomly.

“If justices were indeed being randomly assigned in the Criminal Term, the probability of two specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is quite low, and the probability of three specific criminal cases being assigned to the same justice is infinitesimally small,” Stefanik noted.

She then pointed out, “This is the same Acting Justice Merchan who, in violation of New York State Code of Judicial Conduct 100.5(h), donated to President Biden’s 2020 campaign, along with the Progressive Turnout Project and its ‘Stop Republicans’ subsidiary.”

“It’s also the same Acting Justice whose daughter is a political consultant working for prominent Democrats, whose firm stands to profit greatly if Donald Trump is convicted,” she went on, adding sourced links to help support her statements. 

The New York congresswoman called for this “anomaly” to be investigated and concluded that if foul play had occurred Merchan and anyone involved “in such a scheme,” should be subject to legal punishment. 

President of Judicial Watch Tom Fitton agreed. He wrote on X that whether it is an “interesting coincidence” or not “there should be further explanation about how this happened.”

“Either way, his unethical and illicit political contributions to the Biden/Democratic Party should have led to his recusal, in the least, from all three of the Trump cases,” he went on.

Founder and President of the Article III Project, Mike Davis, further shared his opinion on the matter, blasting Merchan on X for allegedly failing to be unbiased.

He stated, “Judge Merchan is nothing more than another henchman of President Biden working to ensure Trump is convicted before November.”

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