NEW YORK: Donald Trump has lost his latest bid for a new judge in his New York hush money criminal case as it heads toward a key ruling and potential sentencing next month.
In a decision posted Wednesday, Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s demand was a rehash “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims” about the political ties of Mercan’s daughter and his ability to judge the historic case fairly and impartially.
It is the third that the judge has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee.
All three times, they argued that Merchan, a state court judge in Manhattan, has a conflict of interest because of his daughter’s work as a political consultant for prominent Democrats and campaigns. Among them was Vice President Kamala Harris when she ran for president in 2020. She is now her party’s 2024 White House nominee.
A state court ethics panel said last year that Merchan could continue on the case, writing that a relative’s independent political activities are not “a reasonable basis to question the judge’s impartiality.”
Merchan has repeatedly said he is certain he will continue to base his rulings “on the evidence and the law, without fear or favor, casting aside undue influence.”
“With these fundamental principles in mind, this Court now reiterates for the third time, that which should already be clear — innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create,” Merchan wrote in his three-page ruling. “Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required.”
But with Harris now Trump’s Democratic opponent in this year’s White House election, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche wrote in a letter to the judge last month that the defense’s concerns have become “even more concrete.”
Prosecutors called the claims “a vexatious and frivolous attempt to relitigate” the issue.
Messages seeking comment on the ruling were left with Blanche. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment.
Trump was convicted in May of falsifying his business’ records to conceal a 2016 deal to pay off porn actor Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with him. Prosecutors cast the payout as part of a Trump-driven effort to keep voters from hearing salacious stories about him during his first campaign.
Trump says all the stories were false, the business records were not and the case was a political maneuver meant to damage his current campaign. The prosecutor who brought the charges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is a Democrat.
Trump has pledged to appeal. Legally, that cannot happen before a defendant is sentenced.
In the meantime, his lawyers took other steps to try to derail the case. Besides the recusal request, they have asked Merchan to overturn the verdict and dismiss the case altogether because of the US Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity.
That decision reins in prosecutions of ex-presidents for official acts and restricts prosecutors in pointing to official acts as evidence that a president’s unofficial actions were illegal. Trump’s lawyers argue that in light of the ruling, jurors in the hush money case should not have heard such evidence as former White House staffers describing how the then-president reacted to news coverage of the Daniels deal.
Earlier this month, Merchan set a Sept. 16 date to rule on the immunity claim, and Sept. 18 for “the imposition of sentence or other proceedings as appropriate.”
The hush money case is one of four criminal prosecutions brought against Trump last year.
One federal case, accusing Trump of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, was dismissed last month. The Justice Department is appealing.
The others — federal and Georgia state cases concerning Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss — are not positioned to go to trial before the November election.
Judge rejects Donald Trump’s latest demand to step aside from hush money criminal case
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Judge rejects Donald Trump’s latest demand to step aside from hush money criminal case
- Judge Juan M. Merchan declined to step aside and said Trump’s demand was a rehash “rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims”
- It is the third that the judge has rejected such a request from lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee
EU will not yield decision-making right in US tariff talks, says von der Leyen
- Her comments come amid speculation that Washington may be pressing Brussels into delaying the implementation of laws such as those on deforestation and online platforms or providing exemptions to US companies
BRUSSELS: The European Union will not give up its right to make policy decisions in negotiations with the United States to avert higher US tariffs on EU goods, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.
“Of course, we discuss tariff lines, we discuss non-tariff barriers, like standards and norms. For example, we discuss strategic purchases, we discuss all these topics,” von der Leyen told a news conference after an EU-Canada summit.
“But where it is the sovereign decision-making process in the European Union and its member states that is affected, this is too far,” she continued, adding this was an “untouchable.”
Her comments come amid speculation that Washington may be pressing Brussels into delaying the implementation of laws such as those on deforestation and online platforms or providing exemptions to US companies.
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte seeks dismissal of impeachment case
- The House of Representatives impeached Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr
MANILA: Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte responded Monday to her Senate impeachment trial summons, demanding the case against her be dropped.
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
A guilty verdict in the Senate would result in her removal from office and permanent disqualification from politics.
A copy of Duterte’s reply to the summons delivered by messenger to House prosecutors on Monday afternoon called the complaint against her an abuse of the impeachment process.
“There are no statements of ultimate facts in the (impeachment complaint). Stripped of its ‘factual’ and legal conclusions, it is nothing more than a scrap of paper,” the response read.
It goes on to deny the allegations made against her as “false” and state that the Senate’s decision to remand the case to the House earlier this month removed her responsibility to answer them.
Duterte is currently on a trip to Australia where she is meeting with Filipino supporters.
Her summons was issued on June 10 after an hours-long Senate session that saw lawmakers convene as an impeachment court only to send the case back to the House, a decision one lawmaker called a “functional dismissal.”
Bangladesh detains Hasina era ex-election chief
- KM Nurul Huda is accused of rigging past polls in favor of former leader
DHAKA: A Bangladesh court on Monday remanded in custody the former elections chief for his alleged role in rigging the vote in favor of now-ousted autocrat Sheikh Hasina.
KM Nurul Huda, 77, was ordered to be detained for four days while questioning continues, a day after a mob who smashed into his home and assaulted him eventually handed him to the police.
On Sunday, the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party filed a case against Huda and other former election commissioners it accuses of rigging past polls in favor of Hasina, whose 15 years in power ended in an mass uprising in August 2024.
Interim leader Mohammed Yunus has said elections will be held in early April 2026 — the first in the South Asian nation of around 170 million people since the student-led revolt ousted Hasina.
Police put a helmet on Huda while taking him to the court for protection.
Yunus’s government warned last month that political power struggles risked jeopardizing gains that have been made, saying that holding elections by mid-2026 would give them time to overhaul democratic institutions.
Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses and her government was accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections.
Hasina, 77, remains in self-imposed exile in India, where she fled after she was ousted last year.
She has defied orders to return to Dhaka to face charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Her trial in absentia continues.
UK and Ukraine agree to deepen ties as Zelensky meets Starmer
- Zelensky met with Starmer at his Downing Street home, after earlier visiting King Charles III at Windsor Castle
- The trip comes on the eve of a NATO summit in The Hague, which Zelensky is due to attend
LONDON: Seeking to shore up support more than three years into Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a surprise visit to London on Monday, cementing a military co-production deal.
Zelensky met with Starmer at his Downing Street home, after earlier visiting King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The trip comes on the eve of a NATO summit in The Hague, which Zelensky is due to attend.
Addressing Ukrainian military personnel undergoing training in the UK, Starmer said the pair had had “an excellent bilateral meeting” and agreed on an “industrial military co-production agreement,” which he called “a massive step forward in the contribution that we can continue to make.”
Zelensky, speaking beside Starmer, insisted the deal “will be very strong and will transform both nations,” although no details were released.
After the meeting, Starmer said it was “really a privilege, a pleasure” to welcome Zelensky, calling him “a regular now at Downing Street.”
Starmer told the Ukrainian troops it was “really humbling” to see their “level of professionalism, commitment and bravery.”
More than 50,000 troops have now been trained as part of the international partnership.
Zelensky said the scheme had helped “strengthen our army” and enabled Ukraine to “survive and fight.”
The UK has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters since Russia invaded in early 2022, levelling rounds of sanctions against Moscow and supplying multiple packages of military aid.
Starmer promised the support would continue “for the rest of the conflict” and help put Ukraine in “the strongest possible position” to negotiate a ceasefire.
Zelensky said his country was “very thankful to the UK... for such big support of Ukraine from the very beginning of this war.”
The Ukrainian leader earlier traveled to Windsor Castle, where he “visited The King... and remained to luncheon,” Buckingham Palace said.
Zelensky is expected at the NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Ukraine’s allies will work “to ensure that Ukraine is in the best possible position as we go into the next stage of this conflict,” according to Starmer.
NATO allies are poised to take a “quantum leap” by hiking defense spending to counter the threat of Russia, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on the eve of the two-day summit.
The alliance’s 32 members will pledge to boost defense expenditure to five percent of gross domestic product, a key demand of President Donald Trump, who has long grumbled that the US pays too much for NATO.
NATO’s members have thrashed out a compromise deal to dedicate at least 3.5 percent of GDP to core military needs by 2035, and 1.5 percent to broader security-related items like cyber-security and infrastructure.
“The defense investment plan that allies will agree in The Hague introduces a new baseline, five percent of GDP to be invested in defense,” Rutte told reporters at a pre-summit news conference.
“This is a quantum leap that is ambitious, historic and fundamental to securing our future.”
What to know about the Islamic New Year and how Muslims observe it
- Muharram is one of four sacred months during which Islam forbids warfare, a condition that encourages increased prayer, charity and reflection throughout the month
CAIRO: Muslims will soon welcome a new year in the Islamic lunar calendar, known as the Hijri calendar.
The Hijri New Year, beginning on the first day of the month of Muharram, signals a chance for spiritual reflection and religious resolutions, set in the month following the annual Hajj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Here’s what to know about the holiday and how Muslims observe it:
The Hijri New Year will begin around Thursday
This Hijri New Year is expected to fall on or around June 26, ushering in the year 1447 A.H. (which stands for “anno hegirae” or “the year of the Hijrah” in Latin).
The exact date can vary depending on when regional Islamic authorities see the crescent moon.
Because the Hijri calendar is lunar, the dates of Islamic months and holidays — such as Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr — change annually. The new year corresponds with the first sighting of the crescent moon during Muharram, the first of 12 months in the Hijri calendar.
The calendar began in year 622
The Hijri calendar begins counting from 622 C.E., the year the Prophet Muhammad emigrated from Makkah to Medina, fleeing persecution.
This journey, known as the Hijrah or migration in Arabic, led to the religious, social and political consolidation of the then-nascent Muslim community.
The day is more solemn than festive
Muharram is one of four sacred months during which Islam forbids warfare, a condition that encourages increased prayer, charity and reflection throughout the month. More than 20 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Syria, have designated the Hijri New Year a national holiday.
While the passage of the Islamic New Year is generally more solemn and introspective than festive, Muslims may observe the holiday differently, according to their school of thought.
For Shiite Muslims especially, the first 10 days of Muharram mark a significant period of mourning: On the 10th of Muharram in 680 C.E., the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein was killed in battle.
Ten days into the new year on Ashoura, waves of Shiite mourners walk the streets dressed in black, beating their chests or self-flagellating in public grief.
Sunni Muslims commemorate Ashoura through voluntary fasting, as the day for them marks Moses’ parting of the Red Sea.
The wars in Iran and Gaza will impact observations of the new year
Mass demonstrations of mourning on Ashoura are known to unfold in Tehran and other cities in the Shiite-majority Iran.
But more than a week into a campaign of strikes by Israel, the streets of Tehran have been largely deserted, businesses are closed, and with no bomb shelters open, many shelter on the floor of metro stations. Thousands have fled the city.
Israel launched a major attack on Iran on June 13, striking the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure in Tehran and triggering a war between the two longtime foes.
Ashoura demonstrations in Pakistan, Lebanon and Iraq have also been a site of tributes to Palestinians.
This Hijri New Year is the second to pass since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has since killed more than 55,000 Palestinians in the predominantly Muslim area, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said most of the dead are women and children.
