Donald Trump is so worried about his sentencing in New York on September 18th--barely a week after he debates Vice President Kamala Harris--that he's tried to get Judge Juan Merchan to recuse himself a total of three times.
What a weird way for such an innocent and transparent person to behave.
The first time was nearly a year ago after the 34 felony charges against Trump were announced.
Trump tried again to have Merchan recuse himself before the trial began and guess what? He failed again.
And now that his sentencing is mere weeks away, Trump tried and failed yet again. If bad things happen in threes, this is the third bad thing for Trump when it comes to Judge Merchan.
In his decision released on Tuesday, Judge Merchan writes that Trump's weak arguments for recusal are "nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims."
Judge Merchan also reiterated, "for the third time", that he said what he meant and he meant what he said: "That which should already be clear - innuendo and mischaracterizations do not a conflict create. Recusal is therefore not necessary, much less required."
Someone probably needs to fetch Trump a tissue to staunch the spontaneous nosebleed he got from that one.
Judge Merchan also had a message for Trump's unpaid lawyers, writing that "counsel has been warned repeatedly that such advocacy must not come at the expense of professional responsibility in one's role as an officer of the court.
"Counsel has merely repeated arguments that have already been denied by this and higher courts. Defense Counsel's reliance, and apparent citation to his own prior affirmation, rife with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims, is unavailing."
Ouch.
See you in September, Felonious Trump!