'Overheated' and 'vexatious': Hush money prosecutor hits back at latest Trump court claim
Hush money trial prosecutors hit back at Donald Trump's latest assault on Judge Juan Merchan in a filing that dubs the former president "vexatious and frivolous," court records show.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's team issued a blistering response to Trump's argument against the judge who oversaw the first trial to conclude with the criminal conviction of a U.S. president.
"Defendant's motion to renew is a vexatious and frivolous attempt to relitigate an issue that was twice addressed by this Court," the letter states. "This regurgitated showing does not come close to meeting the standard to renew."
Trump's latest argument against Merchan stemmed from Vice President Kamala Harris' rise to presidential nominee, which they argued presented a new conflict of interest because of a connection to his daughter.
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Prosecutors responded that Trump's initial recusal motion, denied in April, included Harris' name and argued his lawyers presented no new evidence to support this old claim.
"No amount of overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric can cure the fatal defects in defendant's ongoing effort to impugn the fairness of these proceedings and the impartiality of this Court," the letter states. "The motion for recusal should be denied for a third time."
Trump in May was found guilty of falsifying business records to conceal hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
He denies wrongdoing and has promised to appeal the verdict. Sentencing is slated for September.