Donald Trump filed a motion for Judge Juan Merchan to recuse himself from the trial last year, but it was only after the judge requested a ruling about the matter from an ethics board. MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin pointed to the timeline of the motion, explaining that on May 4, 2023, the New York State Judicial Ethics Advisory Board reviewed Merchan for possible conflicts and determined there were none. “We see nothing in the inquiry to suggest that the outcome of the case could have any effect on the judge’s relative, the relative’s business, or any of their interests,” the committee found,…