(CNN)

Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York, donated $35 in political contributions to Democrats in 2020, including a $15 contribution to the campaign of Trump’s opponent, President Joe Biden.

The political donations are undoubtedly small, but they nevertheless raise questions about Merchan’s impartiality as he has come under attack by the former president as a “Trump-hating judge.”

"We do not consider ourselves entitled to interfere in the internal affairs of the United States and we believe that the United States has no right to interfere in our affairs. So we would not like to comment on this," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call when asked about Trump’s case.

CNN
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Donald Trump is the first former president to be indicted. Given that move by a New York grand jury and the other high-profile criminal cases involving Trump, you might think his political fortunes are endangered.

But many Republican officials seem hesitant to attack the former president (instead turning on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges), and betting markets still favor Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024.

So what’s going on? We’re in an obviously unprecedented situation, and the political reality can change post-indictment.

Still, Republicans and bettors are likely reacting to three facts:

Trump’s polling lead in the 2024 Republican primary has grown over the last month as an indictment loomed.
Most Republicans think all the different Trump probes are motivated by politics.
A majority of Trump supporters aren’t overly concerned about his electability among general election voters.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/politics/2024-republican-president-trump-indictment/index.html