EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Donald Trump slammed Judge Juan Merchan for denying his request to dismiss the charges against him in New York v. Trump, telling Fox News Digital Democrats "just want to see if they can get a pound of flesh because every case has failed."
Merchan denied Trump’s request to toss his guilty verdict in New York v. Trump, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and set his sentencing for Jan. 10—just ten days before he is sworn in as 47th President of the United States.
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Merchan said there would be no imposition of a sentence including incarceration, jail time, a fine, or probation, but rather, likely, a sentence of an "unconditional discharge," which means there would be no punishment imposed.
"Every major legal pundit, including Andy McCarthy, Jonathan Turley, Gregg Jarrett, and Eli Honig, has stated strongly there was no case, there is no case and this was just a witch hunt," Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Friday. "The judge is corrupt and I am still under a gag order, I am not allowed to speak about the thing he least wants me to talk about."
Trump said Merchan is "a totally conflicted judge who is doing the work for the Democrat Party because every other case has failed."
"I did absolutely nothing wrong," Trump continued. "This is a political witch hunt by Biden and the DOJ."
He added: "They want to see if they can get a pound of flesh because every case has failed including deranged Jack Smith’s, who is on his way back to the Hague after having lost every case."
Trump told Fox News Digital that "nobody has ever gone through what I go through—this is a disgrace."
The president-elect went on to call Merchan "the most conflicted judge in the history of jurisprudence."
"There has never been a judge as conflicted as this one," Trump said. "There was no case. He created a case out of nothing because he wanted my political opponent to win."
Merchan imposed a gag order over Trump during the trial and has refused to lift that order.
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Merchan’s gag order bars Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case—other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg—or about court staff, DA staff, or family members of staff.
One issue Trump has been barred from speaking about relates to Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, who sits as the president for Authentic Campaigns—a company that has done political work for top Democrat clients like President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan launched an investigation into Loren Merchan’s work for the Democrat-affiliated firm. Loren Merchan received more than $7 million in compensation from her work for Vice President Harris in 2020.
Meanwhile, cases brought against Trump in all other jurisdictions have been dismissed or are paused indefinitely.
A federal judge in Florida this summer dismissed the case brought against Trump by now-former Special Counsel Jack Smith related to his alleged improper retention of classified records. The judge, Jude Aileen Cannon of the Southern District of Florida, dismissed the charges, ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.
Smith’s case against Trump related to alleged 2020 election interference was also dismissed last month, and he closed his office.
Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges across both of Smith’s cases against him.
And last month, a Georgia court of appeals disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her team from prosecuting Trump in her 2020 election interference case.
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The court did not toss Trump's indictment entirely, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have "no authority to proceed."
"There is no way such corrupt people can lead a case and then it gets taken over by somebody else," Trump told Fox News Digital last month, reacting to the ruling. "It was a corrupt case, so how could it be taken over by someone else?"
"The case has to be thrown out because it was started corruptly by an incompetent prosecutor who received millions of dollars through her boyfriend—who received it from her—and then they went on cruises all the time," Trump said, referring to Willis' relationship with a former prosecutor on her team, Nathan Wade.
"Therefore, the case is entirely dead," Trump said. "Everybody should receive an apology, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this for years."
Meanwhile, Trump spokesman and incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that the order by Merchan "is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence."
"This lawless case should have never been brought and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed," Cheung told Fox News Digital. "President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts."
Cheung added: "There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead."
