When I first heard that a New York trial court judge, Juan Merchan, forbade President Donald Trump from talking about the judge’s daughter in a court gag order, I was perplexed.

Why would Mr. Trump be talking about the judge’s daughter in this so-called hush money trial? Why did she matter in the case?

Then I started doing research. The more I learned, the more outrageous Judge Merchan’s gag order became.

His daughter, Loren Merchan, is not an innocent bystander on her way to the prom, selling Girl Scout cookies, or doing charitable work for the Red Cross.

The judge’s daughter is a well-known, successful national Democratic operative who has made a lot of money attacking Republicans in general — and Mr. Trump in particular.

Ms. Merchan is the president of Authentic Campaigns, a major Democratic campaign group. In 2020, she worked for Vice President Harris’ campaign as director of digital persuasion.

In addition to Ms. Harris, Authentic Campaigns has a list of important Democratic clients:

·         Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

·         House Majority PAC

·         Senate Majority PAC

·         Senator Hickenlooper

·         Representative Lauren Underwood

·         Governor Hobbs of Arizona

·         Senator Booker

·         Representative Pat Ryan

·         Representative Ilhan Omar

·         Governor Newsom

·         Representative Adam Schiff

·         Representative Jeff Jackson

·         Wisconsin Democrat Party

I think it is fair to say that someone whose firm counts Mrs. Omar and Mr. Schiff as clients is pretty hardcore anti-Trump. After all, Mr. Schiff was the House prosecutor in Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial and became famous for using his post as chairman of the Intelligence Committee to spread outrageous politically motivated lies about Mr. Trump.

According to the New York Post, two of Ms. Merchan’s major clients have raised $93 million in fundraising off the case against Trump. They specifically cited Judge Merchan’s case in their solicitations.

So, Judge Merchan is trying to keep Mr. Trump from pointing out that the case is enriching his daughter. By virtually any standard, this at least creates the appearance of a conflict of interest. Whether New York law requires it or not, the judge should step away. 

Yet, in the tradition of the modern corrupt Democratic Party, Judge Merchan apparently never talks with his daughter about politics or her business. Sound familiar?

This defense falls apart, when you ask his daughter. According to the New York Post: “Loren Merchan … has said her father detests politicians using Twitter, an apparent reference to Trump.

“‘I’ve actually had a couple conversations with my dad recently where he’s kind of like ‘I hate that politicians use Twitter,’ and like ‘It’s so unprofessional’ and you know, ‘That’s not how a politician should behave themselves,’ and I explain that like yeah, I think there are a lot of instances where it is not used in, like when our President [Trump] tweets anything that he thinks, and like that’s not what he should be using it for,” the 34-year-old Merchan offered during a podcast appearance in June 2019.”

So, Judge Merchan seems hopelessly biased against the defendant — and his daughter’s company is making millions of dollars off the case. Further, she could potentially benefit further based on its outcome. How could there be a clearer case for the judge recusing himself? 

It’s no wonder why Judge Merchan decided Mr. Trump isn’t allowed to talk about any of this publicly. The New York legal machine is having too much fun playing “get the candidate,” and his daughter is raking in dough.

This should be a simple standard to meet. In any case, if a judge’s close relative is making money attacking or supporting a party in a case before the judge, he or she should step aside. The American people should be deeply concerned.