Daughter of judge presiding over Trump’s hush money case worked for Kamala and Joe Biden
Speculation about Donald Trump’s indictment has mounted after it was revealed that the daughter of the judge presiding over the case worked for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential run and a slew of other progressive campaigns.
Trump went on a rampage on Tuesday afternoon at Judge Juan Manuel Merchan in a social media diatribe ahead of his arraignment with a post claiming the judge comes from a “family of known Trump haters.”
Loren Merchan, the 34-year-old daughter of a Manhattan judge, is a partner and president of Authentic Campaigns, a forward-thinking digital company, and has worked on several high-profile Democratic campaigns β including for President Joe Biden.
The judge’s daughter’s work led to more claims from former President Trump that the judge “hates me” and that the Stormy Daniels case against him in Manhattan is rigged, biased and part of the politicization and criminalization of the US justice system .
Just hours before his landmark indictment on Tuesday afternoon, Trump demanded that the case in question be moved from Manhattan to the more Republican-friendly Staten Island.
Manhattan judge Juan Manuel Merchan and his daughter, Loren Merchan, 34, who works for forward-thinking digital strategy firm Authentic Campaigns
Loren Merchan’s work, including on Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential primaries and Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, has drawn criticism from Trump, who claims Judge Merchan is a “Trump hater.”
A grand jury decided to indict the ex-president Thursday after Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg continued the case.
The former president tore up the alleged anti-Trump sentiment from the prosecutor and judge on Truth Social. He said Tuesday morning that Staten Island would provide a “very fair and safe” alternative location β though he was flanked by Secret Service and other law enforcement officials throughout the process on Tuesday.
According to her LinkedIn, Loren Merchan served as director of digital for Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign from February 2019 to December of the same year.
Merchan’s company, Authentic, continued to work for Harris and then-candidate Joe Biden after the eventual first-ever female vice president ended her failed campaign for president and joined Biden.
She concluded her work with the campaign to fill the same role at progressive digital strategy firm Authentic Campaigns. She climbed the ladder during five years with the company and is now Partner, President and COO of Authentic Campaigns.
Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning, demanded that Stormy Daniels’ hush money case be moved from “unfair” Manhattan and removed from Judge Merchan’s jurisdiction and moved to the more Republican neighborhood of Staten Island
A photo from Loren Merchan’s Facebook shows her holding a glass of white wine while wearing a t-shirt for the 2020 presidential run of Kamala Harris, who she worked with as digital director
After leaving Harris’s campaign, she joined Authentic Campaigns, which teamed up with eventual VP after joining Joe Biden’s ticket
Loren Merchan married Taylor Harper, a geographer with the US Census, last year. Her father officiated at the ceremony in Virginia last June
The firm’s clients include Harris and Biden, as well as other progressive and Democratic politicians such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, New York House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, among several others.
Merchan married her now-husband Taylor Harper, a geographer with the US Census, in June last year. They were married by her father in Virginia.
Trump continued to rise in polls ahead of the formal indictment Tuesday, raising $8 million for his 2024 presidential campaign in the four days following the indictment.
Trump’s campaign spent its final moments until arriving at the courthouse Tuesday morning by sending out another fundraising email.
The final push for contributions was labeled “My last email before my arrest.”
βOur movement has overcome so much,β the email reads. “And I have no doubt that we will triumph again and WIN the White House in 2024.”
There is a button that allows supporters to donate to the campaign claiming that money given now has a ‘1500% impact’ than money given at other times.
In addition, Trump went on social media with five messages to Truth Social on Tuesday morning before arriving at the courthouse.
Trump called the proceedings a “kangaroo court” in a post shortly before his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday morning
Trump complained that the judge in the case is a biased “Trump hater” whose daughter “works for Kamala.” Pictured is a courtroom sketch of Judge Merchan on November 15, 2022 hearing the case Trump is tentatively charged with
Trump accused Democrats of criminalizing the US justice system as Republicans and his supporters say the case is an example of liberals using the justice system for political ends
His first post on Tuesday morning laments, βVERY UNFAIR PLACE, WITH SOME AREAS VOTING 1% REPUBLICAN. THIS CASE SHOULD BE MOVED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ISLAND OF STATES – WOULD BE A VERY FAIR AND SAFE LOCATION FOR THE TRIAL.β
“In addition, the highly biased judge and his family are KNOWN TRUMP HATERS,” the ex-president added. βHE WAS AN UNFAIR DISASTER IN A PREVIOUS TRUMP-RELATED CASE, WOULD NOT REVIEW, GAVE HORRIBLE JURY INSTRUCTIONS AND IMPOSSIBLE TO TREAT DURING THE WITCH HUNTING TRIAL. HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR ‘KAMALA’ ββ& NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN.’
‘KANGAROO COURT!!!’ he concluded.
Journalists from all over the world lined up at the courthouse in Manhattan from Monday to Tuesday to secure their seats in court.
Trump posted Tuesday morning, again writing in all caps, that Democrats have “criminalized the justice system” as his defenders repeatedly claim the Manhattan case against him is “politically driven.”
“THIS IS NOT WHAT AMERICA SHOULD BE!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Protesters on both sides descended on the criminal court building and were separated by NYPD barricades just after dawn.
Protesters clashed outside the criminal courthouse in New York City on Tuesday when a pro-Trump protester threw himself at an anti-Trump banner and began biting and tearing at it
Chaos ensued early on as protesters clashed on opposite sides, with one Trump fan throwing himself at an anti-Trump banner and attempting to tear it up.
“You’re on the wrong side!” shouted the anti-Trump crowd, grabbing for the flag the woman tried to remove in a clumsy tug of war.
More than a week before being charged, Trump told his supporters to “protest, protest, protest,” and a few days later warned of “death and destruction” if charged.
The Manhattan case stems from a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, from Trump’s “fixer” and then-lawyer Michael Cohen.
Trump claims he never had a sexual relationship with Daniels and was unaware that paying Cohen for legal fees was actually hush money to keep the porn star quiet during the 2016 election.
The charges seek to redirect the payment from a possible felony to an indictment for alleged violations of fraud-related campaign finance laws.