Trump Likely to Face Familiar Judge in Hush Money Trial

Former President Donald Trump is set to appear before a familiar judge in his upcoming trial related to alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. NBC New York reports that New York Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the case in which the Trump Organization was found guilty of 17 counts, will likely be presiding over Trump’s trial. Merchan previously ordered the organization to pay a fine of $1.6 million for evading taxes.

Trump Criticizes Judge’s Assignment

On Friday, Trump took to social media platform Truth Social to criticize the assignment of Judge Merchan to his trial. He claimed that the judge “hates” him and called the case an unprecedented witch hunt. Trump also accused Merchan of strong-arming his former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a plea deal.

Bragg Confirms Indictment

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed Trump’s indictment on Thursday and contacted Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender for arraignment. The indictment remains under seal, and no arraignment date has been set yet.

Republican Party’s Uproar

The Republican Party expressed its concerns over Bragg’s investigation of Trump even before the indictment was announced. Top House Republicans opened an investigation and sent a letter to Bragg last week, seeking documents and communications related to the district attorney’s investigation into Trump. The Republicans view the prosecution of a former president and current presidential candidate as an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority.