He is known to be courteous but firm. Since Monday, Judge Juan Merchan, born in Colombia, has been responsible for presiding over the debates in the historic trial of the Stormy Daniels affair… and for containing the sometimes volcanic temperament of Donald Trump, without appearing to be incriminating. And he is also a judge who has no time to waste. With “500 jurors waiting”, Juan Merchan seems not to want the trial to drag on, and has already opposed Donald Trump’s team, which is playing the show.
By refusing to recuse himself, as requested by the defense. By brushing aside the accusations from the Trump camp, which accuse him of the links of his daughter’s employer with the Democratic Party and a donation of 35 dollars to Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020. Or by highlighting the delay in the defense after a brief recess of hearing Monday afternoon. “Please ensure that you respect the time allocated for breaks so that we can move forward,” he told the lawyer.
” He hates me “
The one who began his career in 1994 also reminded the audience that, like any defendant, Donald Trump must be present at the hearing every day, otherwise he will be sought by the authorities. And that he could be sent to prison if he disrupted the hearing…
He has already banned the Republican billionaire, who is virulent on social networks, from attacking witnesses and court staff. “HE HATES ME,” Donald Trump immediately wrote.
“It’s a trial that should never have existed,” said the former Republican president, once again calling Juan Merchan an “anti-Trump judge” who required him to be present at the hearings on Monday, four days a week.
Without saying anything, the latter said “Hello Mr. Trump” as he entered the room, without saying “Mr. President Trump”, as is customary in the United States – a way of reminding us that the former leader is not here as a simple citizen.
The day before, Donald Trump had, in fact, criticized Judge Juan Merchan for not having immediately exempted him from attending his son’s graduation or from following a hearing that concerns him at the Supreme Court of the United States. United next week.
A dry warning
Ultimately, the jury will determine whether Donald Trump is guilty, and the judge will set the sentence accordingly. The defense tracked down any sign of possible bias against the defendant, even in his publications on social networks. To which Merchan replied: “The question is not whether anyone agrees politically with your client. The question is whether they can judge him fairly and impartially. »
The magistrate, described as “intelligent and even-tempered” by attorney Ron Kuby, also issued a sharp warning to the defendant, who seemed to whisper a few words to one of the potential jurors. “I will not allow jurors to be intimidated in my court,” he told Donald Trump’s lawyers, urging them to rein in their client.
Merchan rejected appeals from Trump lawyers
In a letter on April 8, the judge who supposedly does not let “a media circus” invade his court also pointed out that “contrary to the defense’s arguments, the purpose of jury selection is not to determine whether a potential juror likes or dislikes one of the parties.” Rather, he explained, it is a question of whether that juror “can guarantee that he or she will put aside any personal feelings or biases to make a decision based on the evidence and the law.”
Our file on Donald Trump
With the selection of the jury expected to be more complicated than usual, Judge Merchan ruled on Monday that the names would be kept secret due to the “likelihood of corruption, jury manipulation, physical injury or harassment.” Still as firm, the man who helped launch the Manhattan Mental Health Court also rejected last week a series of appeals from the former Republican president’s lawyers, including a request for a change of scenery from the trial on the grounds that he could not benefit from a fair jury in a city that votes overwhelmingly Democratic.
On Monday, one of the potential jurors was recused due to his son’s marriage in June. And Judge Merchan congratulated him, slipping with his now-famous sarcasm: “I think we should be finished by then, but I can’t promise that. »