Former president Donald Trump will "almost certainly" be convicted in two of his criminal cases, according to former U.S. acting solicitor general Neal Katyal.
Trump's hush money criminal trial is set to begin on April 15, but on Friday, the former president demanded a new judge. Trump's lawyers urged Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan to recuse himself from the case, alleging bias and a conflict of interest because his daughter is a Democratic political consultant. Merchan did not immediately rule on the motion.
There is no basis for Merchan to recuse, said Katyal, a former Supreme Court lawyer, on MSNBC's Inside with Jen Psaki on Sunday. He added that Trump's latest move is a delaying tactic which is "going nowhere". He believes the trial will begin next week as scheduled, and that Trump will likely be convicted.
Trump is accused of hiding payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels—given name Stephanie Clifford—to allegedly buy her silence about an affair she claimed they had. The presumed Republican presidential nominee is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records, but has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies wrongdoing. He also denies an affair with Daniels, and says he is the victim of a political witch hunt.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Merchan's daughter on social media, leading to Merchan expanding a gag order issued in the case.
"I don't think it [the hush money trial] is going to be delayed," Katyal said. "I mean, Trump's decisions all throughout his legal strategy is first lie, then deny, then delay and we're on the delay phase of this. It's his last-ditch effort to say the judge is getting... kickbacks or some money from his daughter through this.
"It's something that's preposterous, it's something that was rejected by the New York Court and the ethics committee earlier, so I think it's going nowhere. We will see that trial begin and I strongly suspect Donald Trump will be convicted at the end of that trial."
Newsweek has contacted a Trump spokesperson, and Katyal for comment via email.
The hush money allegations would be the first of Trump's four criminal cases to be tried, as well as the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.
"None of this is going anywhere," Katyal added about Trump's effort to delay the case. "That's the beauty of the American criminal justice system. It's 12 jurors, it's... rules of evidence and the like, and these kinds of nonsense arguments go nowhere."
Katyal also said that Trump will likely be convicted in a case charging him with illegally hoarding classified documents.
Trump is charged with 40 felony counts that accuse him of willfully retaining dozens of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he left the White House, and obstructing government efforts to give them back. He has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers have asked Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss the case.
Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge overseeing the case, has come under scrutiny for judgments that defy precedent and benefit Trump. She has yet to rule on multiple defense motions and other disagreements between the two sides or set a trial date, prompting accusations she is seeking to delay the trial.
"I suspect even despite Judge Cannon's machinations down in Florida in the stolen documents investigation, should that case go to trial and she's trying to make it so it may not, but if it does go to trial, he's going to be convicted almost certainly there as well," Katyal said.
Cannon's office has told Newsweek it does not comment on pending cases.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
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