Judge in Trump hush money case says he will not recuse himself
CNN
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial related to hush money payments said he will not recuse himself from the case, rejecting the former president’s latest attempt to remove him ahead of his sentencing next month.
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial related to hush money payments said he will not recuse himself from the case, rejecting the former president’s latest attempt to remove him ahead of his sentencing next month. Trump has repeatedly sought to remove Judge Juan Merchan from the proceedings, citing work the judge’s daughter has done for Democratic campaigns. An advisory committee on ethics previously found no basis for the judge to step aside. In denying Trump’s motion, the judge wrote, “this court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear – innuendo and mischaracterization do not a conflict create.” The judge said Trump has offered no new facts to warrant another review. “Counsel has merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts,” Merchan wrote in his decision. Trump is scheduled to be sentenced next month after a jury convicted him in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to a porn star before the 2016 election. The conviction made Trump the first former president to be found guilty of a felony and the first major-party presidential nominee to be convicted of a crime in the midst of a campaign for the White House.
Political opposites are closing 2025 as they did 2024: on each side of America’s Donald Trump divide. But CNN’s “All Over the Map” survey did provide several interesting takeaways. Some may be instructive about the midterm election climate, at least at this beginning stage.
A 2-year-old child is among at least five people who were killed when a Mexican Navy plane carrying medical patients crashed into the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas on Monday afternoon, US Coast Guard officials say.
The Trump administration is suing the local government of Washington, DC, over its gun laws, alleging that restrictions on certain semiautomatic weapons run afoul of Second Amendment rights.
Vince Zampella, one of the creators behind best-selling video games such as “Call of Duty,” has died. He was 55.
President Donald Trump said Monday the US remains in active pursuit of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, more than 24 hours after the chase began, while repeating his threats against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Vice President JD Vance has never looked more like the presumptive 2028 Republican presidential nominee.
A man is facing murder, weapons, and arson charges after authorities say he killed another man with an arrow, then barricaded himself in his home, where several fires were set.
An apparently frustrated federal judge pressed the Trump administration Monday to share what it was going to do next in the fast-moving saga over Kilmar Abrego Garcia days after she found he was being unlawfully held in immigration custody.
The Justice Department’s release of thousands of documents and pictures related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein on Friday was highly anticipated and provided a glimpse into the life of the late sex offender and his associations with some of the richest and most powerful people in the world.
Jeffrey Epstein survivors are slamming the Justice Department’s partial release of the Epstein files that began last Friday, contending that contrary to what is mandated by law, the department’s disclosures so far have been incomplete and improperly redacted — and challenging for the survivors to navigate as they search for information about their own cases.
President Donald Trump is expected to make an announcement about shipbuilding alongside his Pentagon chief and Navy secretary on Monday, according to a person familiar with the plans.
The Providence mayor wants the Reddit tipster to get a $50,000 FBI reward. It might not be so simple
His detailed tip helped lead investigators to the gunman behind the deadly Brown University shooting – but whether the tipster known only as “John” will ever receive the $50,000 reward offered by the FBI is still an open question.
The Trump administration is removing numerous career ambassadors from their posts abroad, marking the latest shake-up of the US State Department and diplomatic corps.