A scandal has erupted in New York over the impartiality of the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s high-profile hush-money trial.
The former president’s legal team is considering filing another motion demanding Justice Juan Merchan’s recusal over alleged conflicts of interest stemming from his daughter’s work with major Democratic clients and fundraising efforts – some of which referenced Trump’s indictment in her father’s courtroom.
At the center of the controversy is Loren Merchan, the 34-year-old daughter of Justice Merchan who serves as president of Authentic Campaigns, a Democratic Party-aligned political consulting firm.
Among Authentic’s top clients are Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the former House impeachment manager against Trump, and the Senate Majority PAC, which has raised over $73 million for Democratic Senate campaigns since Trump’s indictment last year.
According to federal records, Schiff’s campaign for U.S. Senate alone has raked in a staggering $20 million through donation appeals directly citing Trump’s unprecedented criminal charges related to the alleged hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
“It is a somber moment, and unprecedented for a former president to be indicted, but his alleged offenses are also unprecedented,” Schiff stated in one fundraising email blast soliciting $10 donations in the wake of Trump’s arraignment.
The Senate Majority PAC has similarly used the Trump case as part of a fundraising effort, with one appeal to Democratic donors stating: “BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury…We must continue protecting our Senate majority from GOP extremists.”
Authentic Campaigns reportedly made over $25 million from these two prominent anti-Trump clients since 2019 for services like digital advertising, branding, and email fundraising.
Trump’s team said it is a clear ethical breach to have the judge in his case so closely tied to an anti-Trump political fundraising effort.
“Authentic Campaigns, and thus the judge’s daughter, is actively making money from this sham attack against President Trump, rendering Judge Merchan conflicted out,” spokesman Steven Cheung told The New York Post.
He argued evidence of Merchan’s bias against Trump is “even clearer now” than when the judge rejected an initial recusal motion last August.
MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace reacted to the explosive scandal by throwing her script in frustration while on-air —
Nicolle Wallace is broken and it's beautiful to witness.
Nicolle suffers meltdown over Trump, throws her script.pic.twitter.com/fqQ8Dbo1Iw
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 1, 2024
But Constitutional law experts have also raised red flags about the connections between the Merchan family and partisan efforts tied to Trump’s prosecution.
“Under the law, close relationships can sometimes constitute a basis for recusal,” attorney Alan Dershowitz said, though he cautioned that a final determination would require further information on the precise nature of Loren Merchan’s role.
The judge’s daughter previously offered insight into her father’s disdain for Trump, recounting his criticisms of the former president’s prolific tweeting as “so unprofessional” and not how “a politician should behave themselves.”
For his part, Justice Merchan has attempted to impose tight restrictions on pretrial publicity by issuing a limited gag order this week preventing Trump from talking about witnesses, prosecutors, or court staff – though the former president remains free to assail the Manhattan DA overseeing his case.
Trump has nonetheless doubled down on his attacks against Merchan himself, accusing the judge of being “a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
He questioned whether the judge was ethically compromised, suggesting “maybe the judge is such a hater because his daughter makes money by working to ‘Get Trump.'”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has staunchly defended Merchan, and claimed he has presided over the Trump case fairly based on facts and law alone. They insist any conflicts of interest involving the judge’s daughter are tenuous at best.
With jury selection in Trump’s trial set to begin in two weeks, the former president’s demands for Merchan’s removal inject another complication into a legal battle already fraught with political overtones.
Courts have long grappled with how to define compromising conflicts of interest and maintain judicial impartiality, especially when family ties intersect with prominent public cases.
As Trump’s unprecedented prosecution looms over the 2024 election, the legal system now finds itself under an intense spotlight over its ability – or perhaps inability — to insulate explosive legal proceedings from political influence.
The Horn editorial team