Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over former President Donald Trump's business records case, must recuse himself, as his "disqualification is mandatory under New York law," because of his daughter's political fundraising activities, said attorney David Schoen, who represented Trump in his second impeachment trial.
"There's no question here," Schoen said. "We know that they've raised $93 million. ... We know that the judge and his daughter have a vested interest in making sure this case isn't dismissed and goes on. The integrity of the system sufferers when this happens, and I think you'll see President Trump go up in the polls."
But Merchan saved jurors who should have been dismissed for cause, "clearly based on social media posts," said Schoen. "One juror, he agonized over and only finally dismissed for cause because she also posted that Trump ought to be locked up in jail." "This recusal thing is a real issue, what I think is a major issue in this case, and it renders the indictment defective is the fact that the target crime was never specified by the grand jury," said Schoen. "What I mean by that is they charge a misdemeanor for doctoring business records, and it becomes a felony if the person doctors the business records with the intent to defraud and commit another crime.