Judge who oversaw Trump Organization CFO case may get Manhattan Trump investigation: Report

The New York judge who presided over the Trump Organization criminal trial may take charge of the trial involving former President Donald Trump’s hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, according to Fox News.

If the former president is indicted by a grand jury, State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan will oversee the Trump case.

Merchan already presided over the tax fraud case against Allen Weisselberg, Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization, and the case against the Trump Organization for similar charges. Weisselberg pleaded guilty and has to pay $2 million in taxes, penalties, and interest, and was also sentenced to five months in prison. The Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million, the maximum amount for the crime.

Prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating to see if Trump falsified business records by listing $130,000 as a reimbursement paid to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen for paying off porn star Stormy Daniels to stay silent as a legal expense. Falsifying business records in that way is a misdemeanor in New York, but it can be upgraded to a felony charge if the district attorney’s office can successfully argue that the falsification was done to conceal a second crime.

The Manhattan grand jury has not yet voted on whether to indict Trump, but a new report says that the grand jury may not vote on charges until Thursday or sometime next week.

Reports initially appeared on Saturday that Trump might be indicted in Manhattan, with Trump posting on his social media platform Truth Social that he believed he would be arrested on Tuesday. The former president was not arrested on Tuesday but could be arrested if he is indicted by the grand jury.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER