Who is Judge Juan Merchan?

Juan Merchan is an acting justice of the New York State Supreme Court in New York County.

Merchan is presiding over the unprecedented criminal trial of former President Trump.

Merchan, a former prosecutor, has imposed a gag order on the former president for the entirety of the trial. He ruled Trump has violated that gag order 10 times – holding the former president in contempt of court and fining him $10,000 to date.

This week, Merchan threatened Trump with jail time, saying the monetary fine is clearly ineffective in preventing the former president from violating the gag order.

"The last thing I want to consider is jail," Merchan said. "You are [the] former president and possibly the next president."

"The magnitude of that decision is not lost on me," Merchan said. "Your continued willful violation of the court’s order…constitutes a direct attack…and will not be allowed to continue…It is not allowed to continue."

Merchan has forced Trump to be in court for each day of his criminal trial. This means the former president has missed arguments at the Supreme Court on the matter of presidential immunity and whether he is immune from prosecution in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case.

Meanwhile, Merchan ultimately decided Trump, later this month, can attend the high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron Trump.

Merchan’s daughter works for a political firm that services Democratic politicians like Rep. Adam Schiff and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump has called on Merchan to recuse himself from the case due to his daughter's affiliation with Democrats.