DONALD TRUMP HAS lost in his third bid to unseat the New York judge presiding over his hush money case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.

Lawyers for the former US president and Republican nominee had again argued that the work of judge Juan Merchan’s daughter for a Democrat-leaning organisation created a “perceived conflict of interest” and that he should recuse himself.

A jury convicted Trump in May of 34 felonies for falsifying business records to hide a payment meant to silence porn star Stormy Daniels.

On 16 September, the judge will consider a separate request by Trump’s lawyers to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case following a Supreme Court ruling in July on presidential immunity.

Depending on the outcome of that hearing, Merchan has scheduled Trump’s sentencing for 18 September.

In a ruling dated Tuesday, Merchan forcefully rejected Trump’s latest bid to have him removed.

“Stated plainly, Defendant’s arguments are nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims,” the judge wrote in the ruling.

“Defense Counsel’s reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing. As such, Defendant’s motion is again DENIED.”

A New York State ethics panel previously found no issue in Merchan continuing to handle the case, and the judge said the “Court will continue to base its rulings on the evidence and the law, without fear or favor, casting aside undue influence.”

Despite the ethics ruling, Trump’s legal team insisted that work undertaken by Merchan’s daughter, which they said included past fundraising efforts for Trump’s rival, US Vice President Kamala Harris, undermined the judge’s independence.

With Harris now Trump’s Democratic opponent in this year’s White House election, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche wrote to the judge last month that the defence’s concerns have become “even more concrete”.

Prosecutors called the claims “a vexatious and frivolous attempt to relitigate” the issue.

In a tirade on his Truth Social platform, Trump called an order by Merchan limiting his ability to attack the judge’s family members “suppression and manipulation of the vote.”

Trump, the first former US president ever convicted of a crime, has been doing everything in his power to delay multiple trials against him until after the November election.

He faces charges in Washington and Georgia related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

With reporting from © AFP 2024