With former President Donald Trump having been found guilty by a jury, his fate is now fully in the hands of New York Judge Juan Merchan, who has set a sentencing hearing date of July 11, just days before Trump is formally nominated at the Republican National Convention.

Trump has routinely criticized Merchan as "biased" and "conflicted" and a "Trump hater," and media scrutiny of the judge appears to have confirmed at least some basis in reality for those complaints, according to a BBC report.

Merchan has made donations to President Joe Biden and leftist political organizations, his political activist daughter runs a company that aids Democratic campaigns, he has previously ruled against Trump's business, and he imposed limitations on Trump's constitutional rights, among other things.

Democrat-aligned family and donations

The Telegraph reported that before the trial began it was revealed that Judge Merchan had donated $15 to President Biden's 2020 campaign and $10 each that same year to leftist political organizations known as the Progressive Turnout Project and Stop Republicans.

Though the donations were admittedly small and dismissed as "trivial" by many, they were nonetheless made in violation of New York's Code of Conduct for judges and its prohibition against political donations of any size. Yet, when Trump's attorneys raised the issue, Merchan refused to recuse himself.

It was also revealed early on that Merchan's adult daughter, Loren Merchan, is the head of a digital advertising and fundraising firm that works exclusively with Democratic candidates and leftist political organizations, including the Biden-Harris campaign and others who are vehemently opposed to Trump, such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who led the first impeachment against then-President Trump.

However, when Trump pointed out that clear conflict of interest, Merchan again refused to recuse himself and instead slapped Trump with an egregious gag order enforced by fines that sharply constrained the presumptive Republican nominee's ability to speak about the case, including potential witnesses, the jury, the prosecution team, court employees, and family members of all of the above, with only a limited carveout for criticism of the judge himself and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Has ruled against Trump in other cases and pre-trial matters

The Telegraph also reported that Judge Merchan has previously ruled against former President Trump, or more specifically the Trump Organization, and even ordered a prison sentence for the company's elderly Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg over a bogus tax fraud conviction spun out of the company benefits and perks he'd received.

Meanwhile, Merchan is also presiding over the pending prosecution of Steve Bannon, a former top adviser and staunch ally of Trump, who faces charges of fraud and money laundering over a fundraising effort to support Trump's efforts to build a border wall.

Left unmentioned by the Telegraph was how Merchan, throughout Trump's trial and the pre-trial proceedings, routinely ruled in favor of the prosecution's various motions and objections while mostly denying the same from Trump's defense team.

How will Merchan treat Trump at sentencing?

The big question now is how Judge Merchan will treat former President Trump when it comes time for sentencing next month, where Trump faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison for each of 34 counts of felony falsification of business records.

Merchan could order Trump to serve a maximum sentence for each charge consecutively, for a total of 136 years behind bars, though he could also order them all served concurrently within one four-year span or even opt for home confinement, probation, community service, or simply a fine, according to the Daily Beast.

That outlet spoke to a handful of other defendants who'd been sentenced by Merchan and the general consensus from most was that the judge was tough but fair and unbiased.

However, none of those other defendants were named "Trump" or were running against the judge's preferred candidate and the political party that has made his daughter wealthy, and the Daily Beast's reporting only served to inadvertently underscore the notion that Merchan is particularly biased and conflicted when it comes to the former Republican president.