Judge Merchan’s daughter works at a campaign firm serving Democrat clients, which goes against a New York law to ensure impartiality, the lawyer points out.
Lawyer David Schoen criticized Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan for overseeing President Trump’s “hush money” case, pointing out that the judge could be compromised.
“This judge has no interest in being fair,” Mr. Schoen, who represented former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment, said in an April 19
interview with Newsmax. “The American Bar Association put out a thing last week or so, saying that the lawyers should be standing up for these judges. I don’t have an interest in standing up for a judge who shouldn’t be on a case.”
He pointed out that Judge Merchan’s disqualification is mandatory per New York
law 100.3 e(1)d(iii), which states that a judge should disqualify themselves if “a person known by the judge to be within the sixth degree of relationship” has an “interest that could be substantially affected” by how the case proceeds.
Mr. Schoen brought attention to Judge Merchan’s daughter Loren Merchan who has served as partner and president at Authentic Campaigns, which
describes itself as a “full-service digital marketing agency for non-profits and campaigns.” The company has worked with multiple Democrat clients and was part of President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.
“There’s no question here. We know that they’ve raised $93 million,” he said, referring to a New York Post
story that revealed Ms. Merchan’s Democrat clients reportedly raised at least $93 million in campaign donations—using President Trump’s case in their communications soliciting donations.
“We know that the judge and his daughter have a vested interest in making sure this case isn’t dismissed and goes on. The integrity of the system suffers when this happens, and I think you'll see President Trump go up in the polls,” Mr. Schoen noted.
If President Trump ends up getting convicted, the matter heads to the appellate division. Over there, the former president’s attorneys can argue some “real legal issues,” including the recusal of Judge Merchan, he said.
President Trump is facing 34 counts in the “hush money” case for allegedly
falsifying his business records to divert funds to his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
These funds were then supposedly used to
pay adult actress Stormy Daniels to ensure she did not reveal her affair with President Trump in the mid-2000s during the 2016 presidential campaign. President Trump denied he was ever in an affair with the actress.
In his interview, Mr. Schoen also questioned the selection of jury members in the case. A full jury as well as alternate jurors were selected on Friday. The jury selection lasted for five days. “How is it [they were] picking the jury faster than was anticipated?”
Judge Merchan saved jurors who should have been dismissed based on social media posts they made, he said. “One juror, he agonized over and only finally dismissed for cause because she also posted that Trump ought to be locked up in jail.”
The lawyer expressed hope there is at least “one good juror who has some common sense and sees this for the political prosecution that it is and is offended by that.”
Compromised Interests
In a March 26 Truth Social
post, President Trump pointed to the issue of Judge Merchan and his daughter’s ties with Democrat campaigns while criticizing the judge for allegedly disliking him personally.
“Judge Juan Merchan, a very distinguished looking man, is nevertheless a true and certified Trump Hater who suffers from a very serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. In other words, he hates me! His daughter is a senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm that works for Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden,” President Trump wrote.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is listed on the Authentic Campaigns website as one of its clients. He has also given testimony about the firm. Other Democrats who have given testimonies include Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
In the ongoing case, Judge Merchan has issued a
gag order prohibiting President Trump from talking about witnesses, jurors, and the judge’s family members.
“Judge Merchan is ‘railroading’ me, at breakneck speed, in order to completely satisfy his ‘friends.’ Additionally, he has ‘GAGGED’ me so that I cannot talk about the most important of topics, including his totally disqualifying conflict of interest, and taking away my Constitutional Right of Free Speech,” President Trump
said in an April 20 Truth Social post.
According to an
archived version of Loren Merchan’s LinkedIn account, she joined Authentic Campaigns in 2018, working as director of digital advertising. She was then bumped up as the vice president in 2019, and later partner and president in 2020.
Prior to this, she worked as “Director of Digital Persuasion” for the “Kamala Harris For the People” campaign in 2019, which was during the 2020 presidential race campaigns.
Judge Merchan has previously made rulings linked to President Trump’s associates. Last year, he sentenced Allen Weisselberg, a long-time chief financial officer of President Trump, to five months in
prison for his involvement in a tax fraud scheme.
At the time, Judge Merchan told Mr. Weisselberg he would have given a longer sentence if he hadn’t already promised to limit jail time to five months.
Judge Merchan also oversaw a criminal fraud
case involving former Trump adviser Steve Bannon last year. When Mr. Bannon’s attorneys requested more time to review new evidence, Judge Merchan accused them of trying to delay the case.
