Judge in hush money case says he's 'prepared' to 'dispense justice' to Trump

New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan M. Merchan suggested he intends to afford former President Donald Trump a fair trial in a hush-money case.

Last week, Merchan temporarily postponed Trump's New York criminal trial to give the defendant time to examine recent-released government documents about the decision to prosecute his former attorney, Michael Cohen, but not to indict him.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Merchan called Trump's trial "intense."

The judge said he was working "to make sure that I've done everything I could to be prepared and to make sure that we dispense justice," Merchan also expressed confidence in court staffers.

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"There's no agenda here," he told AP. "We want to follow the law. We want justice to be done."

"That's all we want," the judge added.

Merchan has scheduled a March 25 hearing to determine the next steps before Trump's pending criminal trial.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump in the hush money criminal case, marking the first time a former U.S. president faced criminal charges.

The case, which centers on the 2016 presidential election, involves alleged payments made to silence claims of extramarital sexual encounters and thereby influence the outcome of the election. Specifically, the charges are linked to money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, purportedly to prevent them from publicly discussing their claims of affairs with Trump.