GOP files ethics complaint against Judge Merchan after Kamala's campaign hired his daughter's firm

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik filed an ethics complaint against Juan Merchan, the judge in the Stormy Daniels case against Donald Trump. Although the political affinity and business relationship of the judge and his family with the Democratic Party had already been called into question, Stefanik's initiative introduces unprecedented information: Vice President Harris hired Merchan's daughter in the current election cycle, with the case against the Republican candidate already on the judge's desk.

Shortly after President Biden threw in the towel for the presidential race, his vice president, then a brand-new Democratic candidate, paid $468 to Authentic Campaigns, a consulting firm led by the judge's daughter, Loren Merchan, which served Democratic clients such as Katie Hobbs and Gretchen Whitmer.

The contracted service, specifically, is the hosting of the campaign website. While Biden was the front-runner, the Democrats opted for Amazon Web Services. All of this was acknowledged by the vice president's own team, according to Stefanik: the disbursement is listed in a report of Democratic expenditures and donations to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

"The Code of Conduct dictates that a judge must recuse from a case where a relative up to and including the sixth degree has a financial interest in the outcome of the case," the Republican representative wrote. "Ms. Merchan is related to Justice Merchan in the first degree."

The new facts, Stefanik asserts, merit a new review of the judge's conduct by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, to whom she addressed the ethics complaint. The commission had already rejected earlier requests to recuse the judge, who is also being investigated by the House Judiciary Committee.

In recent hours, Merchan decided to move the sentencing against Trump from Sept. 18 to Nov. 26, postponing it until after the presidential election.