Fresh concerns are emerging about a significant conflict of interest in the case involving Donald Trump’s alleged payments to a porn actress. This is because it has been revealed that Loren Merchán, daughter of Juan Merchán, the judge in charge of the case, has important connections with prominent Democratic figures who have raised millions of dollars in campaign donations, taking advantage of the judicial process against the former president as catalyst.
Donald Trump has denounced on several occasions that there is bias in the judicial process against him. However, these concerns were recently intensified with the revelation that clients of Loren Merchán raised more than $93 million in campaign donations following the accusation against the former president in New York.
According to a New York Post report, Judge Merchán’s daughter is president of Authentic Campaigns, a Chicago-based progressive political consulting firm that counts Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and the Senate Majority PAC as prominent clients. Both clients seem to have obtained enormous sums of money by taking advantage of the political context of the trial.
The report states that Schiff’s Senate campaign alone has received $20 million in donations since it began appealing for help following the unprecedented 34-count indictment of the Republican Party presidential front-runner.
The Senate Majority PAC, linked to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), has received $73.6 million in donations since it began sending fundraising emails after Trump’s impeachment.
An email from the PAC said: “Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury. This is an important moment for our democracy, but our work isn’t over. We must continue protecting our Senate majority from GOP extremists. Please, rush in $10 (...) to help Defend the Senate.”
The report also reveals that since 2019, the Senate Majority PAC has made transactions exceeding $15 million with Authentic Campaigns, while Schiff’s campaign has paid more than $10 million for digital advertising and consulting services.
In addition to the above, the judge’s daughter also held the position of “director of digital persuasion” for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. Likewise, Juan Merchán made donations to the organization ActBlue, money destined for Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020, as well as to the group Stop Republicans, whose mission is to “resist” Trump and the Republican Party.
“The judge should do the right thing and recuse himself”
After this information came to light, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung denounced: “Authentic Campaigns, and thus the judge’s daughter, is actively making money from this sham attack against President Trump, rendering Judge Merchan conflicted out.”
“The judge should do the right thing and immediately recuse himself in order to show the American people that the Democrats have not destroyed our justice system completely (…) him continuing to be involved in this Crooked Joe Biden-directed Witch Hunt is a complete violation of applicable rules, regulations and ethics” he added.
Now, Trump’s lawyers are contemplating filing a request for Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchán to recuse himself from the case that will begin on April 15, according to the report.
