NEW YORK (EFE).— Hispanic judge Juan Manuel Merchan became the first to supervise the criminal trial of a former president of the United States, when the trial against Donald Trump began yesterday on charges of falsifying commercial documents to help cover up a love affair with a porn actress.
During his long career, Merchan, 61, who was the first member of his family to go to university, earned the reputation of a calm judge who does not raise his voice, as well as being extremely reserved.
The responsibility of setting limits so that the process does not become a media circus rests on him; Thus, he will not let either Trump or his defense stray from the strict rules of his courtroom, as he has done on more than one occasion, not going any further last January, when Trump abruptly left the courtroom during the defense’s final arguments. of his complainant, the writer E.Jean Carroll.
“Hate messages”
Trump has used his social network, Truth Social, on several occasions to send messages against Merchan, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and at the age of 6 emigrated to the United States, where in 2006 he was appointed judge of the Bronx family court and since 2009 He is a criminal judge of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
According to the Daily News, since his name was revealed to be in charge of this criminal trial – assigned to this case at random –, Merchan saw his phone numbers and email addresses flooded with “hate messages.”
Trump has repeatedly said that this trial, like all the others he faces, is a witch hunt by Democrats and that Merchan hates him.
Trump’s lawyers also sought to change judges by pointing out that during the 2020 presidential campaign, Merchan donated $15 to Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign and $10 to a group called “Stop Republicans.”
Trump’s legal team also noted that the judge’s daughter, who is president of the digital agency Authentic Campaigns, worked on several Democrats’ campaigns, including Biden’s.
Although Judge Merchan is a registered Democrat, records show he was previously a Republican, according to “The New York Times.”
However, the judge has promised to be fair and impartial, and a state court ethics panel said Merchan could continue with the case.
In early April, the judge, who also presides over the Manhattan Mental Health Court, expanded a gag rule applied to Trump in this criminal trial to prohibit him from making comments about his family.
old acquaintances
It is not the first time that Merchan and Trump have crossed paths, since the judge presided over the trial for tax fraud of the Trump Organization, owned by the former president; He oversaw a case against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and sentenced Allen Weisselberg, one of the businessman’s most loyal squires, to prison.
Curiously, the magnate and the judge have something in common: Queens, a district of New York where they both spent their childhood.
Trump lived until he was 13 in Jamaica Estates, a residential neighborhood with huge mansions, while Merchan grew up in the Jackson Heights neighborhood, where he worked as a real estate agent, a dishwasher and night manager of a hotel before making the leap to the judiciary. .
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2024-04-27 21:06:38