Judge Juan Mercon, who presided over the first trial
‘Trump accountant’ sentenced to 5 months in prison
Trump: ‘Witch Trial judge hates me’
While former U.S. President Donald Trump, who was indicted for allegedly ‘silencing sexual scandal’, is scheduled to appear in the New York State District Court on the 4th (local time), attention is focused on Judge Juan Mercheon (pictured), who was in charge of the first trial in this case.
In the first court hearing scheduled for this day, a “prosecutor’s procedure” will be held to determine whether former President Trump admits the charges against the prosecution in front of Merchan Judge.
American media, including CNN and the New York Times (NYT), paid attention to the bad relationship between former President Trump and Judge Merchan. Judge Merchan recently convicted former President Trump’s family business ‘Trump Group’ of tax fraud, and sentenced Alan Weislberg, who is called ‘Trump’s accountant’, to prison.
Former President Trump said on his personal social media on the 31st of last month, the day after the decision to prosecute, “Judge Mercun, who is in charge of this ‘witch hunt’ trial, hates me. He was vicious with my family business and with Weislberg, who was chief financial officer.”
Judge Merchan fined the Trump Group $1.6 million (approximately 2.1 billion won) after a jury found it guilty of 17 crimes, including tax fraud and tampering with corporate documents, in January this year. This amount was the largest of the fines that the court could impose. Prior to this, Judge Merchan also sentenced Weislberg Trump Group CFO to five months in prison on 15 charges, including tax fraud.
CNN, citing lawyers who attended Judge Merchan’s trial, said, “He is very strict, but in court, he is a judge who judges anyone fairly.” Karen Agnifilo, an attorney who has worked with Judge Merchan, told CNN, “He will make sure that no circus of any kind, including media play, is taking place in the courtroom.” It can work against you,” he pointed out.
According to the NYT, Judge Merchan was born in Bogota, Colombia, and immigrated to Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, when he was six years old. He began his career as a district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 1994 after receiving a law degree from Hofstra University. In 2006, Michael Bloomberg, the then mayor of New York, appointed him to the Bronx Family Court in New York State, and since 2009 he has served in the New York District Court.
George Soros, chairman of the hedge fund
Allegations of “chosen and sponsored by District Attorney Bragg”
Soros side: “We’ve never met”
“Alvin Bragg (New York) Manhattan District Attorney, who was chosen and sponsored by George Soros, is a disgrace.”
Former President Donald Trump, the first former and incumbent U.S. president to face criminal prosecution, repeatedly pointed out George Soros (pictured), chairman of the Soros Fund, as behind the investigation. It is argued that Chairman Soros, who is known as the godfather of US hedge funds and the biggest supporter of the ruling Democratic Party, actually manipulated District Attorney Bragg to investigate and even prosecute him. Chairman Soros’ side denied a direct connection, saying, “Chairman Soros and District Attorney Bragg have never met.”
Republican presidential candidates, including former President Trump and Florida Governor Ron Disantis, are claiming a close relationship between President Soros and District Attorney Bragg and claiming a “political prosecution.” On the 20th of last month, former President Trump claimed that “Prosecutor General Bragg received $1 million from the radical leftist chairman Soros, who is the enemy of ‘I’ (Trump).” Even on the 30th of last month, when the indictment was decided, District Attorney Bragg made a statement and claimed that he was sponsored by President Soros.
According to CNN and others, the $1 million former President Trump said is the amount donated by President Soros to the Color of Change, a political action committee (PAC) that supports black politicians in 2021. The donation came shortly after the group announced it would give $1 million to Bragg, who was running for Manhattan District Attorney at the time.
In response, Chairman Soros refuted, saying, “I have never directly supported District Attorney Bragg.” It means that President Soros, who has supported progressive candidates from before, continued the same move at the time. However, according to Politifact, a US fact-checking media, Bragg’s campaign finance report during the 2021 Democratic Party’s Manhattan District Attorney’s nomination process shows that Soros’ son Jonathan and Jonathan’s wife Jennifer Allen donated a total of $20,000. .
Hungarian-Jewish chairman Soros founded the Soros Fund in 1970 and is famous for being a big hand in controlling the hedge fund industry. In a 2003 Washington Post (WP) interview, he said, “My life goal is to get President (George) Bush to step down,” and then fully supported the Democratic Party in the presidential election the following year. During the midterm elections last year, he sponsored 128 million dollars (about 167.6 billion won) of political funds to the Democratic Party, which was also recorded as the largest supporter.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.