An ethics complaint against Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial, has been dismissed by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, a state courts spokesman confirmed last Friday. The dismissal came in July, but with a cautionary warning that the grievance could be taken into account if Merchan faces another allegation of misconduct. The details of the confidential complaint are unclear.
Merchan had been criticized for donating $15 to the “Biden for President” campaign and $10 each to the Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans on July 26, 2020, through ActBlue, a Democratic online fundraising platform. The Progressive Turnout Project’s mission is to encourage Democrats to vote, while Stop Republicans describes itself as “a grassroots-funded effort dedicated to resisting the Republican Party and Donald Trump’s radical right-wing legacy.
Political donations made by judges are generally prohibited under state Commission on Judicial Conduct rules. However, an annual report from the commission indicates that several dozen judges in New York have made prohibited contributions over the past few years. The dismissal of the Merchan complaint was first reported by Reuters.
Merchan’s donations drew criticism from Trump, who has labeled him as a “Trump-hating judge” and targeted his daughter, Loren Merchan, for her work at Authentic Campaigns, a consulting firm involved in Democratic politics. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, which he allegedly made to prevent her from discussing an alleged sexual encounter with him during the 2016 election campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
