Trump trial judge reprimanded for donations to Democratic-aligned groups in 2020 | Donald Trump trial

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s secret campaign finance trial in New York has been warned by a state ethics panel over two small donations made to Democratic-aligned groups in 2020.

It is likely that Trump and his lawyers will seize on this warning as evidence for his claims that the New York trial, now entering its fourth week, was unfairly judged by Judge Juan Merchan along partisan political lines.

But the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has not revealed who filed the complaint against Merchan that stems from a $35 donation to the Democratic group ActBlue, $15 of which was intended for Biden for the position for president and $10 each to the Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans.

“Judge Merchan said the complaint, filed more than a year ago, was dismissed in July with a warning,” said state Office of Judicial Administration spokesman Al Baker. in response to a Reuters investigation.

The commission considers that the contributions violate the rules on prohibited political activities. In its 2024 annual report, the organization indicates that several dozen judges have made prohibited contributions in recent years, mainly to candidates for federal office.

Judges are prohibited from contributing to campaigns, including for federal office.

“As is the case with much of the misconduct the commission encounters, making a prohibited political contribution is a self-inflicted mistake,” the commission wrote in its report.

The commission also received a complaint against Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the former president’s civil business fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million fine earlier this year. This complaint, filed by Trump’s lawyers, has not yet been judged.

Under commission guidelines, proceedings are confidential unless there is public censure or the judge makes them public.

Trump was highly critical of the judges in both cases. In the previous trial, he was blamed for describing Judge Engoron’s law clerk as the girlfriend of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. In this case, he drew attention to Judge Merchan’s daughter, who works as a Democratic political consultant.

In response to a petition seeking Merchan’s resignation, which the judge denied, a separate advisory committee on judicial ethics said the contributions did not create an impression of bias or favoritism.

Reports of the contributions come a day after The New York Times revealed that the wife of conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew an inverted American flag in front of the couple’s home following the election. 2020.

Alito said his wife took this action because a Democratic neighbor used a highly derogatory slur to describe her to her face.