As the court day started, Judge Merchan turned down a request Trump’s lawyers had filed asking that the judge recuse himself — a move they also unsuccessfully made earlier in the case.
The Trump legal team pointed largely to the judge’s daughter’s work as a political consultant whose firm has worked for prominent Democrats, including President Biden.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the daughter’s job represents a conflict of interest for the judge, and they also claimed she had posted an image of Trump behind bars on social media. The court system said she had closed the social media account before the photo was posted.
Trump’s attorneys also argued that an interview that Merchan gave to The Associated Press…
