(NEW YORK) — In a scathing ruling released Wednesday morning, disgruntled Judge Juan Merchan rejected former President Donald Trump’s third attempt to disqualify the judge from his New York hush-money trial due to an alleged conflict of interest.

“To be clear, defendant’s arguments are nothing more than a repetition of outdated and unsubstantiated claims,” ​​Merchan wrote in the three-page order.

Earlier this month, Trump’s lawyers tried to argue that Vice President Kamala Harris’ position as the Democratic presidential candidate created a conflict of interest for Merchan because of the judge’s daughter’s work as a political adviser, repeating an argument Merchan has rejected twice in the past.

Merchan called Trump’s third attempt at recusal “nothing more than an attempt to vent his displeasure with the decisions of this court” and criticized the defense for repeating “inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims.”

“Defendant has presented nothing new for this court to consider,” Merchan wrote. “Counsel has simply repeated arguments that have already been rejected by this and higher courts. Counsel’s reliance on and apparent reference to his own prior claim, which is full of inaccurate and unsubstantiated allegations, is ineffective.”

Merchan also criticized defense attorneys for objecting to the remaining provisions of the limited news gag order in the case, which was upheld by a New York appeals court earlier this month.

“It is therefore difficult to see how defense counsel can in good faith argue that the order is unconstitutional,” Merchan wrote.

Trump was found guilty in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to boost his prospects in the 2016 presidential election. He has announced that he will appeal the verdict.

With the motion to dismiss denied, Merchan is expected to announce a decision next month on Trump’s motion to dismiss the case based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. In a landmark decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump enjoys presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts he performed while in office.

The verdict in the hush money case is still scheduled for September 18.

“As has been our practice throughout the pendency of this case, this Court will continue to base its judgments on the evidence and the law without fear or favor, and will disregard undue influence,” Merchan wrote in Wednesday’s order.

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