'Policing the rhetoric': Former DA says hush money judge is Trump's perfect foil
Mar 26, 2024
Donald Trump may be a stable genius, but Judge Juan Manuel Merchan is proving to be the stable hand who might be the former president's perfect foil. That'a according to to Miriam “Mimi” Rocah, a seasoned prosecutor with hours logged in both New York and Westchester counties, who appeared Monday on CNN's "Out Front" to laud the New York City jurist overseeing Trump's criminal hush money case. As proof, Rocah pointed to Merchan's handling of Trump's lawyers accusations, levied against prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's office, of misconduct. "That's so serious, for any lawyer, but especially prosecutors," Rocah said. "That, according to the judge, was not warranted."Merchan played the cornerman for the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over accusations linked documents handed over by the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office, Rocah argued. While Trump's attorneys demanded delay or even dismissal over the alleged "widespread misconduct" of failing to quickly pass the documents, along, Bragg's office said they did their due diligence. ALSO READ: Here's why conservative elites are bailing on Trump nowTrump's attorneys may have pointed fingers at the prosecutors in Trump's hush money case — in which the former president has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records to hide alleged payments made to Stormy Daniels — but Merchan gave them a hat tip, Rocah noted. Specifically, Merchan refused to delay the case and set a court date of April 15. "This judge, who really calls balls and strikes, said 'In fact, I think the D.A.'s office here seems to have gone above and beyond,'" Rocah said. "They've not only fulfilled their obligations under the law, but they went beyond that."Rocah took Merchan's admonishment of Trump's attorneys as a sign that he'll push back when the case comes to trial. "That is part of a judge's job," Rocah said "to police, if you will, the rhetoric and accusations that get thrown around in heated cases."Watch the video below or click here.
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