Former President Donald Trump's blockbuster filing to try to push Judge Juan Merchan out of the Manhattan hush money case has one interesting aspect many people have overlooked, according to former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann in a post on social media.
In the filing, Trump specifically went after Merchan's daughter — whom he has already attacked in a series of posts on social media — claiming that she has compromised Merchan because she works for a campaign vendor that works with Democratic campaigns, some of which mentioned the former president's indictment in fundraising pitches.
The specifics of the charges are less interesting, however, than another detail of the filing, Weissmann argued.
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"The most interesting 'tell' about this new Trump recusal filing is that it is NOT signed by one of the Trump defense lawyers on the NY criminal case and is only signed by Todd Blanche," wrote Weissmann. "That other lawyer, Susan Necheles, has not signed other submissions as well."
Trump has infamously cycled through a number of different attorneys throughout his legal battles, many of whom ultimately bailed on representing him.
Blanche, the attorney who did sign the letter, was the subject of a recent deep profile by The New York Times, which revealed that he bailed from a high-powered law firm in order to represent Trump in the hush money case, and he has steeped himself in MAGA rhetoric to a degree many other lawyers have not.
This comes as Trump has become a lighting rod for controversy over his involvement of Judge Merchan's family in his attacks on the court. As Trump continued these attacks, Judge Merchan added new restrictions to a gag order imposed on the case, which extended it to public attacks on family members of court officers.
All of this follows unsuccessful efforts by Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia to get Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis removed based on her personal relationship with one of the special prosecutors.
Weissmann previously commented on Necheles and pointed out how her "path" varies from that of Blanche.
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