MAGA Accuses Judge Merchan of 'Sleazy Move' Against Donald Trump

The judge overseeing Donald Trump's falsifying business records case has been accused by some conservative and MAGA figures of a "sleazy" move to prevent Orthodox Jews from sitting on the New York jury by holding proceedings on Fridays.

Trump is set to make history on Monday when he becomes the first U.S. president in history to face a criminal trial. Proceedings in the falsifying business records case where Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 charges will begin on April 15 with jury selection. The proceedings are expected to last around six to eight weeks and will take place every weekday, except Wednesday.

Ahead of proceedings starting in the Manhattan courtroom, Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, is accused of taking steps to stop Orthodox Jewish people from being selected for the jury. Proceedings in the case will take place on Fridays, when Jewish people observe a period of rest known as the Shabbat that prevents them from undergoing work or other activities such as driving or cooking.

However, as others have pointed out, Shabbat occurs between sunset on Friday and Saturday, meaning that observant Jews could hypothetically still take part in jury duty during the day as the sun will be setting around 7:30 p.m. in New York. The sun will set later in the day as the trial continues into the summer, by which point court proceedings would have ended for the day.

Fox News host Mark Levin was one of those who accused Merchan of preventing Orthodox Jews from being on the falsifying business records trial jury.

Levin said that Trump has strong support from Orthodox Jews. An American Jewish Committee (AJC) poll released weeks before the 2020 election found that 74 percent of Orthodox Jews preferred Trump over Joe Biden.

"Leftwing anti-Trump Democrat judge in phony case against Trump starting tomorrow has purposely scheduled trial days to include Fridays to prevent more conservative pro-Trump Orthodox Jews from serving on the jury," Levin posted on X, formerly Twitter. "This is yet another sleazy move by this judge."

A similar sentiment was shared by Dan Schneider, vice president for the Media Research Center's Free Speech Alliance group.

"Orthodox Jews to be excluded from [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg's jury pool. The NYC demographic group most strongly supportive of Trump is the orthodox Jewish community," Schneider posted.

"So, no surprise that the very biased judge in Bragg's case scheduled the trial to include Fridays instead of Wednesdays. Very unusual, but understandable since this switch will necessarily exclude all orthodox Jews from the jury pool. Democrat operatives are very clever."

In response to Levin, X user @NormBeck2714 suggested that Orthodox Jews would still be able to serve on the jury as Shabbat does not begin until the evening.

"Being on a jury on Fridays would not be a problem for Orthodox Jews," he wrote while sharing an image showing Shabbat candle lighting times in New York will begin on Friday, April 19, in New York at 7:22 p.m. "Do you enjoy being wrong about everything?"

Fellow X user Adam Moreira also accused Schneider of making a "bogus" claim.

"Why I can say that: The jury pool is exclusively Manhattan Island. Tomorrow, sunset is 7:35 PM and it gets longer until summer solstice. Court would end at 5 PM. Anyone should be able to get home within 2 hours," Moreira wrote.

In response to the criticism, Schneider told Newsweek: "Legacy media is either ignorant or they are willfully ignoring the numerous laws and practices orthodox Jews observe well before sundown on the Sabbath.

"Secular Jews may bend the rules, but observant Jews—those who strongly support Trump—must be in Temple, or cleaning their houses or preparing for Shabbat long before Judge Merchan plans to adjourn trial at 5pm on the most sacred day for Jews."

Newsweek reached out to Levin via email for comment.

In a Sunday night post on Truth Social, Trump accused the trial in New York of "election interference" which aims to hinder his chances of winning the 2024 election.

"I will be fighting for myself but, much more importantly, I will be fighting for our Country. Election Interference like this has never happened in the USA before and, hopefully, will never happen again," Trump wrote.

"We are now a Nation in serious Decline, a Failing Nation, but we will soon be a Great Nation Again. November 5th will be the most important day in the History of the United States. MAGA2024! SEE YOU TOMORROW."

Update 04/15/24, 10:27 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Dan Schneider.