Donald Trump loses Hail Mary call for judge's recusal ahead of New York hush money trial

Former President Donald Trump lost a last-ditch effort Monday to upend his New York hush money trial by calling for the judge's recusal.

It was the second time Judge Juan Merchan has rejected that call from Trump. Merchan ruled in August that his daughter's leadership at a marketing agency that assists Democratic candidates isn't grounds for his recusal. In the new motion, Trump said his success in the Republican primaries since that ruling has "cemented his status as a political target" of the agency.

The revamped argument was a no-go with Merchan, who noted the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics' determination that Merchan's impartiality couldn't be reasonably questioned based on the daughter's work at marketing agency Authentic Campaigns, Inc. because Trump's case doesn't involve her business.

"The court will not address this matter further," Merchan said Monday.

New Trump recusal motion

Trump's lawyers filed the new recusal motion earlier this month, arguing that "Authentic benefits reputationally and makes more money by targeting President Trump."

"For example, in February and March 2024, Authentic actively marketed its services using connections to President Biden and Vice President Harris, as well as graphics and other content that derided President Trump," the Trump legal team said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office responded that Trump shouldn't be allowed to reargue the issue, and that there's no evidence Authentic has done work related to the hush money criminal charges.

Trump trial live updates: Prosecutor wants $3,000 fine, former president held in contempt

Trump NY trial delay tactics failing

The latest recusal motion was part of a flurry of recent Trump filings seeking to delay the trial or throw the case into turmoil by raising a wheelhouse of complaints. Trump has objected to the trial's Manhattan location, a gag order restricting his speech, the evidence the judge is allowing, and publicity surrounding the case.

So far, the hail-mary efforts have failed. A New York appeals court rejected Trump's arguments last week for delaying the trial until after it rules on his objections to holding proceedings in Manhattan and to the gag order. Earlier this month, trial Merchan rejected Trump's call to delay proceedings until after the Supreme Court rules on whether Trump, by virtue of having been president, is immune from prosecution in his federal election interference case.

With Merchan's latest recusal ruling, the criminal trial will proceed. That stands in contrast to Trump's other criminal cases, where he has so far been able to avoid firm trial dates. Trump is charged in two federal cases with unlawfully interfering in the 2020 presidential election and mishandling classified documents. He also faces election interference charges in Georgia.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge Juan Merchan won't recuse himself despite Trump's pressure