Disaster Strikes Judge In Trump's Case - Dark Secret Revealed

Carol, we've also learned through an FEC filing report that Judge Juan Merchan, who presided

over Trump's New York arraignment, made a campaign donation to President Biden's 2020

presidential campaign. It was for $15. Are the optics problematic here? I think the optics are a bit problematic

To be clear, the donations were made in 2020 before Judge Merchan had either the Trump

Organization case assigned to him or obviously this case. But it is troubling optics, I think, for any judge to have made a political contribution

and then to have a party who is either the beneficiary or not the beneficiary of that

political contribution before that judge in court. Now, it was a trivial amount of money, and this is a trial-level judge

The judge in this case is not the ultimate trier of fact. The jury is, but the judge does call some balls and some strikes during the course of

the trial. And if there's a conviction, the judge is responsible for sentencing

That is all subject to review on appeal. However, it is probably not the best course of action for a judge to have made political

contributions while a sitting judge with the possibility that such cases can arise before him

Carol, earlier this week, The New York Times' Maggie Hamerman, who's done extensive reporting

on Trump, reported that he is worried about the probes currently underway with the Georgia

2020 election interference case bothering him personally. His aides are privately worried about the Mar-a-Lago doctrine

Hey everyone, Carmine Sabia here for Explain America. That is indeed troubling news

How are you supposed to get a fair trial if you're former President Donald Trump, when

you have a judge who literally donated to the campaign of Joe Biden

I mean, he donated against you. It could have been for a dollar

He donated for somebody to beat you. And now he's presiding over your case

His daughter worked on the campaign of the person you face in the election

And that's not to say that Judge Marchand cannot be impartial and fair

You can't say that. His job as a judge is separate from his political beliefs, but the optics of this are brutal

In fact, they're so brutal that even if Bragg got a conviction, which Alan Dershowitz has

said is likely, this alone could be grounds for appeal. The judge has literally donated to Joe Biden

Think about this. This is like having a baseball umpire in a Yankees and Red Sox game who has a house full

of Red Sox memorabilia, has bought Red Sox season tickets. Can't be fair and impartial

And now that the people know that this judge has done, it's going to be hard enough to

get a fair and impartial trial in New York City to begin with. You know, when you have a jury made up of people who, I mean, the city voted overwhelmingly

against Trump. So it's going to be very hard to get conservatives on that jury, Trump supporters on that jury

And even if you do, those people have to go home and live their lives if Trump, you know

doesn't get convicted. And people are going to be furious at them

And now you've got a judge who donated to the guy whose Justice Department is, is, you

know, investigating you right now. And the guy who you're taking on again in 2024, should you win the Republican nomination

Conflict of interest doesn't even begin to describe the severity of this situation

This judge needs to recuse himself and quickly or, and, and, or it could be either one

They need to change a venue. If you ask me, I think both things need to happen, which is why I said and, or both of

those things need to happen. You need to get a new judge and you need to change a venue someplace like Staten Island

You're keeping it in the state of New York, but it's more diverse in terms of the way it votes

There's Democrats, there's Republicans. But to put Trump on trial with a judge who supported Joe Biden in his city that overwhelmingly

voted against him, this is, you know, a kangaroo court, just like, just like Trump said, it's

totally unfair and it should not be happening in America. This reeks of political persecution, even if that's not what it is

The optics are just abhorrent. Folks, thank you for joining us here at Explain America

Again, I'm Carmine Sabia. Please remember to like, comment, share, and subscribe

It really helps us out. We love you guys. God bless you. Take care, everybody