On Wednesday, New York Judge Juan Merchan refused to disqualify himself from former President Donald Trump’s business-records lawsuit ahead of the Sept. 18 sentencing hearing. It was the third time Judge Merchan of the New York Supreme Court dismissed charges that he had an unacceptable conflict of interest since his daughter, Loren, works as a Democratic strategist. Mr. Trump’s lawyers claimed the problem became more urgent since the judge’s daughter worked for Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the Democratic contender and Mr. Trump’s opponent.

On Wednesday, New York Judge Juan Merchan refused to recuse himself from former President Donald Trump’s business-records case ahead of his September 18 sentencing hearing. It was the third time Judge Merchan of the New York Supreme Court dismissed allegations that he had an untenable conflict of interest since his daughter, Loren, works as a Democratic strategist. Mr. Trump’s lawyers stated that the issue grew more important after the judge’s daughter worked for Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now the Democratic candidate and Mr. Trump’s opponent.

On Wednesday, New York Judge Juan Merchan declined to disqualify himself from former President Donald Trump’s business-records lawsuit ahead of his September 18 sentencing hearing. It was the third time Judge Merchan of the New York Supreme Court denied charges that he had an intolerable conflict of interest since his daughter, Loren, works as a Democratic strategist. Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that the problem became more pressing after the judge’s daughter worked for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee and Mr. Trump’s opponent.

In May, a Manhattan jury found Mr. Trump guilty on 34 charges of falsifying business records. He faces up to four years in prison when he is sentenced next month, but given his status as a first-time offender and the sensitivity surrounding sending a former president and current GOP contender to prison, he is unlikely to receive harsh penalties. At trial, prosecutors claimed that Mr. Trump criminally hid a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign with the intent to violate election laws. They claimed that Mr. Trump paid Ms. Daniels through Michael Cohen and hid payments to the lawyer in 2017 by misidentifying checks.

During the trial, the ex-president’s lawyers claimed that he was busy running the country and believed he was paying Mr. Cohen for legal services, therefore his team logged the checks accordingly. They claimed the trial was politically motivated.