Know why Trump is again seeking removal of judge in hush money case

Former US President Donald Trump has sought the removal of Judge Juan Merchan overseeing his hush-money case for the second time over a “conflict of interest.”

Trump has lashed out at the judge’s daughter, Loren, and has argued that her work as a political consultant brings in a conflict of interest for her father. He is subject to two gag orders in the case, but he has continued to speak about it on his social media platform Truth Social.

The hush money case is related to a $130,000 payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016 to buy her silence for an alleged sexual relationship with Trump in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. It is alleged that Trump falsified business records to cover up the payment. The trial is set to start on April 15.

Why has Trump sought the judge’s removal?

Former US President Donald Trump has argued that the New York judge, Juan Merchan, has a conflict of interest because his daughter, Loren Merchan, is a political consultant who has worked with the Democratic Party.

Trump has also claimed that Loren’s company, Authentic Campaigns, has derided him. He has also said that the company and its Democratic clients are set to benefit financially from the case.

“The trial in this case will benefit Authentic financially by providing its clients more fodder for fund-raising, Authentic will make more money by assisting with those communications and your honor’s daughter will continue to earn money from these developments by virtue of her senior role at Authentic. Your honor has an interest in this case that warrants recusal,” said Trump in the court, as per filings carried by The New York Times.

Trump further said that, as recently as in February and March 2024, Authentic has used social media to market its connections to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris while deriding him. He further said that the judge “appears to have made extrajudicial comments about the case” and that he “used the Office of Court Administration” to issue a statement about an X (formerly Twitter) account that was associated with his daughter.

The judge’s daughter, Loren, is the President of Authentic Campaigns, a Chicago-based political consultancy. The company’s top clients include Democratic lawmaker Adam Schiff and Senate Majority PAC, a major fundraiser for the Democratic Party, according to The New York Post. Notably, Schiff was the lead prosecutor in the Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Earlier, Trump had sought Merchan’s removal from the case last year as well. The judge rejected the request at the time and said his impartiality in the case could not “reasonably be questioned” and that Trump had “failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required”, as per HuffPost.

Trump’s attempt to get Merchan removed from the case is being as an attempt to delay the start of the trial in the case.

Trump plays around the gag order

In the hush money case against him, former US President Donald Trump has two gag orders against him, but he has continued to target the judge and his daughter on social media.

Earlier on Monday, the gag order was expanded to bar Trump from speaking about the families of Judge Merchan District Attorney on the case. Previously, Trump was barred from commenting about jurors, court staff, witnesses, or prosecutors.

Trump has said that the gag orders are against his constitutionally-assured freedom of speech and hamper his ability to campaign in the presidential election. He is the presumptive Republican nominee against incumbent Joe Biden.

Within hours of the expansion of the gag order, Trump in a post on Truth Social shared a clip mentioning Loren, the judge’s daughter. In the clip from a segment on a Fox News show, commentator Brian Kilmeade termed the gag order “outrageous” and added, “Also, the fact is, the judge’s daughter is an activist who works for Kamala Harris? And there was some dispute on whether she did have a picture up on a website with Donald Trump behind bars. That, to me, is something that if I’m Donald Trump, I’m concerned about that. The judge has a daughter who feels this way.”