The MeidasTouch Podcast - Manhattan DA STRIKES BACK at Trump with SCATHING LETTER

Episode Date: August 3, 2024

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the latest letter brief by the Manhattan DA calling out Donald Trump’s pathetic motion to recuse Justice Merchan. Washington Post: To access The Washington Post for just 50 cents per week, head to https://WashingtonPost.com/Meidas Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Join the Legal AF Patreon: https://Patreon.com/meidastouch Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From early morning workouts that need a boost to late night drives that need vibes, a good playlist can help you make the most out of your everyday. And when it comes to everyday spending, you can count on the PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard to help you earn the most PC Optimum points everywhere you shop. With the best playlists, you never miss a good song. With this card, you never miss out on getting the most points on everyday purchases.

The PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard. The card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit pcfinancial.ca for details. When does fast grocery delivery through Instacart matter most? When your famous grainy mustard potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit, but there's nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that, actually, they will stay for dinner.

Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer. So download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions and terms apply. Instacart groceries that over deliver. Discover the magic of bad MGM casino where the excitement is always on deck. Pull up a seat and check out a wide variety of table games with a live dealer Discover the magic of BetMGM Casino, where the excitement is always on deck.

Pull up a seat and check out a wide variety of table games with a live dealer. From roulette to blackjack, watch as a dealer hosts your table game and live chat with them throughout your experience to feel like you're actually at the casino. The excitement doesn't stop there. With over 3,000 games to choose from, including fan favorites like Cash Eruption, UFC Gold Blitz, and more. Make deposits instantly to jump in on the fun, and make same-day withdrawals if you win.

Download the BetMGM Ontario app today. You don't want to miss out. Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 19 plus to wager. Ontario only. Please gamble responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario.

Defendant Donald Trump's motion to renew is, quote, a vexatious and frivolous attempt to re-litigate an issue that was twice addressed by this court in orders that the First Department Appellate Division then refused to disturb. This was filed moments ago by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in the criminal case against Donald Trump, where Trump was already convicted on 34 separate felony counts, where Donald Trump filed a letter motion requesting that Justice Mershon, who presided over the case, now recuse himself, remove himself from the case before sentencing is set to take place in September. And Donald Trump argues because of a

relationship between Justice Mershon and Vice President Kamala Harris. Donald Trump argues because of a relationship between Justice Merchant and Vice President Kamala Harris. Donald Trump roots that in deranged and unhinged conspiracies from his top surrogates like Laura Loomer. First, let me show you Donald Trump's very bizarre motion that he filed. This is as Donald Trump gets more desperate as his poll numbers crater, as Vice President Kamala Harris surges ahead. Here's what Donald Trump put in his motion, as Tyler McBrien says. This is Trump's team renewing its recusal request in light of the longstanding and extremely beneficial working relationship between Merchan's daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently became the presumptive Democrat nominee.

Here is the letter from the convicted felon's lawyer, Todd Blanche. I'm just going to summarize it for you, but I want to read some of the language so you can hear how absurd it is for yourself. Donald Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanch, or I should say the convicted felon's lawyer, Todd Blanch, writes the following. Dear Justice Merchan, in light of the longstanding and extremely beneficial working relationship between your honor's daughter and Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently became the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democrat Party. We respectfully submit this pre-motion letter to renew our request that the court recuse itself. This letter can be deemed a motion and we request permission to file a reply.

Trump's lawyer goes on to say Trump is the Republican nominee. Harris emerged as the presumptive opponent after it became apparent to the public that Biden administration's lawfare against Trump was motivated by Biden's alarming decline. So just pause right there. That's how you lose all credibility with a judge to begin with. If you want to have facts or law to argue for a recusal, argue it. But to make an argument that isn't an argument at all, but just a press release for a very desperate and declining candidate in Donald Trump just shows that you have no position. It shows how weak and how scared you are. The letter goes on to say, your honor has insisted on maintaining an unconstitutional

gag order. So then Trump's lawyers attack Justice Merchant, making matters worse. This week, the Biden administration unveiled an unprecedented plot to mount a political assault on the Supreme Court in response to the presidential immunity ruling that is central to Trump's pending motion. I think the Biden administration said there should not be absolute presidential immunity because presidents are not kings and no one should be above the law. Two, that there should be term limits on the Supreme Court. And three, there should be a binding and transparent ethics guidelines that they follow. But if you're saying that that is an attack on the Supreme Court,

you're pretty much revealing that you are okay with the idea of dictatorships and lawless courts. By the way, it should be noted that all of those reforms that were proposed by President Biden are not inconsistent with actually what conservative scholars before Republicans became a full-fledged cult believe should take place with this Supreme Court, namely the term limits and ethics guidelines. And who would ever suspect before Donald Trump and this right-wing Supreme Court went full MAGA that there would be the concept of absolute immunity where you can order the military to kill your political opponents. So there's more whining here in this paragraph by Trump's lawyer. And then it talks about the judge's daughter and then insults the judge and the judge's daughter. Your Honor's daughter has a longstanding relationship with Harris, including work for political campaigns. She has obtained and stands to obtain in the future extensive financial, professional,

and personal benefits from her relationship with Harris. Your Honor's daughter was publicly critical of Trump's use of Twitter, a central issue in the pending immunity motion, and described a discussion on that topic with Your Honor that evidences prejudgment of Trump's official acts argument. Your Honor's daughter is a part owner and executive at Authentic Campaigns, which was the top vendor for Harris's prior presidential campaign, based on disbursements of nearly $5 million. Two, touted its subsequent work for the Biden-Harris campaign in connection with at least the 2020 election. And three, made tens of millions of dollars by helping other politicians disseminate political advertisements based on this case. I'm just trying to understand

this argument. So it's an attack on the United States Supreme Court to request term limits, where Donald Trump's own hand-picked judges declared that Trump is above the law. But now you are saying the fact that Justice Mershon has a daughter and his daughter has a job where she works in politics is grounds to disqualify the judge. The judge should be bound by his daughter's job. I'm trying to follow the argument here. So, by the way, was the judge who previously denied this same exact recusal request, and so is the district attorney's office. So when I'm not covering politics here on the Midas Touch Network, where do I get my news on issues involving business, climate, entertainment, culture, music? I go to the Washington Post and one of my favorite things about the Washington Post is I've signed up for their For You newsletter, which sends me my very

own personalized roundup of stories every evening based on my interest and reading history and their washington post app makes it easy for me to stay up on the latest news save and share stories and follow my favorite authors on all of the topics that i want to have curated for me that's why i really love the washington post and look with the election rapidly approaching and with all the issues both here and abroad, now is the time to sign up for The Washington Post. The Washington Post sponsors the Midas Touch podcast. So go to WashingtonPost.com slash Midas to subscribe for just 50 cents per week for your first year.

That's 80% off their typical offer. So this is truly a steal. Once again, go to WashingtonPost.com backslash Midas to subscribe for just 50 cents per week for your first year. Check it out. Here's the letter by the district attorney's office. They say, Dear Justice Mershon, this letter responds to defendant Donald Trump's motion to renew his two prior motions for recusal that he lost. And then it goes on to say, defendant's motion to renew is vexatious and frivolous. It's a vexatious and frivolous attempt to relitigate an issue that was twice addressed by this court in orders that the appellate division, the first department, refused to disturb, meaning the Court of Appeals said, go away, Donald, as well.

Defendant Donald Trump identifies no new facts or changes in the law that warrant a different outcome. He appears to base his motion on the fact that Vice President Harris is now the candidate for president rather than vice president, but defendant's earlier motions already argued that the vice president was his political opponent and that the court's family member would therefore purportedly benefit somehow from rulings in this case. Indeed, defendant rests his latest motion on the same exact affirmation or declaration he presented in support of his April 3rd motion, the regurgitated showing does not come close to meeting the standard to renew. On the merits, the court already correctly held that the speculative series of claims

in defendant's April 3rd motion and affirmation do not even remotely establish that the court has a direct personal, substantial, or pecuniary interest in reaching a particular conclusion. The First Department dismissed defendant's challenge to those orders, holding he had not established a right to recusal or that this court acted in excess of its jurisdiction. No amount of overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric can cure the fatal defects in defendants' ongoing efforts to impugn the fairness of these proceedings and the impartiality of this court. This motion for recusal should be denied for the third time. You see Donald Trump getting very, very desperate with these filings. He knows that in September, there's going to be a sentencing and Donald Trump could be sentenced to prison in September by Justice Merchant. Justice Merchant has been very fair

in his rulings. He even extended, you'll recall, what was supposed to happen was the sentencing was supposed to happen on July 10th. Following the Supreme Court's ruling, Donald Trump petitioned to Justice Merchant that Trump wanted to file an absolute immunity brief arguing that the case, the trial where Trump was convicted should be dismissed because Trump says evidence of official acts while he was in the White House should have been excluded from the trial. Justice Mershon said, look, I will entertain the arguments. We will set a briefing schedule. Justice Mershon moved back the sentencing. Not enough for Donald Trump. Donald Trump says, I want you gone, Justice Merchan, because of your daughter and proceeds

to attack Justice Merchan's daughter with speculative garbage and conspiracy theories. So there you have it. Very desperate Donald Trump in the courts and on his social media and across the board. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 3 million together. Thank you for watching.