On Thursday, Donald Trump became the first past president in US history to be indicted, following an inquiry by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into alleged campaign finance breaches linked to the reported payment of hush money to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Because the indictment is still sealed, it is unknown what allegations Trump will face. The former president has categorically refuted any misconduct, calling the investigation “fake, corrupt, and disgraceful.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it was in touch with Trump’s staff to organise his submission for his hearing, when he will face the accusations for the first time in front of a judge. Two “officials familiar with the matter” told WNBC’s Jonathan Dienst that they expect Trump’s case to be overseen by Judge Juan Merchan, who last year presided over the trial of the Trump Organization, which was convicted of defrauding tax authorities over a 15-year period.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it was in touch with Trump’s staff to organise his submission for his hearing, when he will face the accusations for the first time in front of a judge. Two “officials familiar with the matter” told WNBC’s Jonathan Dienst that they expect Trump’s case to be overseen by Judge Juan Merchan, who last year presided over the trial of the Trump Organization, which was convicted of defrauding tax authorities over a 15-year period.
This type of legal action against a past president, and current Republican presidential frontrunner, is unprecedented in American history, and it could have a major effect on Trump’s chances of returning to the White House, as a hindrance or an assist.
Many Republicans have slammed Trump’s charge, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy calling it a “unprecedented abuse of power.” “No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence,” his Democratic predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, said.
Merchan, who was born in Colombia and came to the United States when he was six years old, has been an active judge on the New York State Supreme Court since 2009.
Merchan attended Hofstra University School of Law after earning a business degree at Baruch College, where he temporarily bowed out to work as an internal auditor.Merchan worked as a motel night manager to help pay his expenses while in college. His judicial career started in 1994 as an associate district attorney in Manhattan. Merchan was moved to the State Attorney General’s office after about five years, before being appointed to the court in 2006 by then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Speaking to The New York Times about Merchan, Jose A. Fanjul, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney, commented: “He is someone who reads every word on every page of every filing and every footnote, and then the cases that you cite to him.
“His fidelity to the law and to getting it right lends to him this sort of moral purpose of what he’s doing that makes it a joy to practice in front of him.”
Merchan has ruled over a number of high-profile cases while on the New York state Supreme Court, including the Trump Organization being found guilty of tax fraud in December of last year, though the former president was not charged directly.
In August, Allen Weisselberg, the former top financial officer of the Trump Organization, was convicted of 15 crimes connected to the fraud.