Trump attorney: Criticisms of judge’s family ‘were not something personal’

An attorney for former President Donald Trump said Sunday that his client’s criticism of the judge who is presiding over his New York grand jury indictment was not meant to be personal.

At a speech last week just hours after his arraignment in New York, Mr. Trump told supporters gathered at his South Florida Mar-a-Lago club that Judge Juan Merchan is a “Trump-hating judge” and invoked his family, saying he has “a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter work[ed] for Kamala Harris.”

“I don’t have any experience with this judge, and again, my practice as somebody who’s been in the criminal justice lane for about 35, 36 years is to not jump on to any bandwagon when it comes to criticizing,” Trump lawyer Jim Trusty said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think the criticisms of the family were not something personal. It was pointing that they have a bias, that they have a political interest that is contrary to President Trump’s.”

Another one of Mr. Trump’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina, has previously tamped down suggestions Mr. Merchan is biased.

At his arraignment for 34 felony counts of business fraud related to a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to hide an extramarital affair, Mr. Merchan urged both Mr. Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to rein in the rhetoric. He did not issue a gag order but said to “refrain from making comments or engaging in conduct that has the potential to incite violence, create civil unrest or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals.”

Mr. Trump and his allies call the case a political persecution, and prominent left-leaning figures and former prosecutors have questioned the strength of Mr. Bragg’s case.  

“Alvin Bragg ran for office saying he’s the best guy to take out Donald Trump,” Mr. Trusty said. “We’ve got to do what we can to let the people know that this is a different criminal justice if we go down this road.”