Who is Juan Merchan, the 'no-nonsense' judge overseeing Trump's hush-money case?
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The judge overseeing Donald Trump's hush-money case knows the drama the former president brings to court.
The two have crossed paths before, legally speaking.
Justice Juan Manuel Merchan presided over the 2022 tax-fraud trial that led to the conviction of the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
He is also the judge for the fraud and money-laundering case against Steve Bannon, a staunch Trump ally.
The New York County Supreme Court judge has served 17 years on the bench, but this is by far the most high-profile case to cross his courtroom.
Mr Trump has slammed him on social media, repeatedly accusing Justice Merchan of corruption and harbouring hate against the former president. Mr Trump has made similar accusations against various judges and prosecutors across his civil and criminal trials.
Mr Trump, who faces charges related to hush money paid to a former porn star, has denied all wrongdoing.
The $15 Joe Biden donation
Soon after Mr Trump was arraigned, records emerged showing Justice Merchan had donated a total of $35 to Democrats during the 2020 election.
That included a $15 donation to Joe Biden's campaign, NBC News reported, as well as $10 donations to groups called the "Progressive Turnout Project" and "Stop Republicans".
New York state, following the American Bar Association's guidance, prohibits judges from making contributions to political organisations or candidates.
Even though the donation to Mr Biden and, possibly, the one to Stop Republicans, would be forbidden, they would be "viewed as trivial, especially given the small sums", Stephen Gillers, an expert on legal ethics at New York University, told BBC News.
Justice Merchan did not recuse himself over the donations and the issue has since died down.
Daughter has worked for Democrats
The judge's daughter, Loren Merchan, has been at the centre of a bigger conflict-of-interest storm.
Ms Merchan is president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that has worked on digital fundraising and advertising for Democratic clients, including Mr Biden and Representative Adam Schiff, who led impeachment efforts against Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has pushed to have the judge removed from the case, citing Ms Merchan's work, but those attempts have failed.
Justice Merchan consulted with the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, which determined "the matter currently before the judge does not involve either the judge's relative or the relative's business, whether directly or indirectly".
With that established, the judge has declined to recuse himself from the case.
Mr Trump has also blasted Ms Merchan on social media, which caused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to request an expansion of the former president's gag order to include the judge's family.
Justice Merchan approved the request. The order had already banned comments about witnesses, jurors, court staff, lawyers for the prosecution, and their families. It does not bar Mr Trump from speaking about the judge or Mr Bragg, who is leading the prosecution of the case.
Comments about Ms Merchan could cause the judge to worry about the safety of his "loved ones", he wrote, which would "undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice".
Mr Trump has decried the gag order as violating his constitutional right to free speech.
Who appointed Judge Juan Merchan?
Justice Merchan began his legal career in 1994, when he graduated from Hofstra University School of Law.
He worked as a prosecutor, serving in the New York County District Attorney's Office and as an assistant attorney general in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, before being appointed a family court judge 2006.
Justice Merchan has served at the New York County Supreme Court, presiding over criminal matters, since 2009.
"He's a serious jurist, smart and even-tempered," Manhattan defence attorney Ron Kuby told NBC News. "He's not one of those judges who yells at lawyers, and is characterised as a no-nonsense judge. But he's always in control of the courtroom."
In the case against the Trump Organization, Justice Merchan was adamant that the charges were absolutely not politically motivated.
The organization's lawyer had argued Mr Weisselberg was being targeted because of his association with the former president.
"I will not allow you in any way to bring up a selective prosecution claim, or claim this is some sort of novel prosecution," Justice Merchan said, according to the BBC's news partner CBS.
