Donald Trump Attacks Judge's Daughter Less Than 24 Hours After Gag Order

Former President Donald Trump criticized a New York judge's daughter in a social media post on Wednesday, one day after that same judge issued a gag order against the former president following similar remarks.

"Judge Juan Merchan, who is suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (whose daughter represents Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, and other Radical Liberals, has just posted a picture of me behind bars, her obvious goal, and makes it completely impossible for me to get a fair trial) has now issued another illegal, un-American, unConstitutional 'order,' as he continues to try and take away my Rights," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

"This Judge, by issuing a vicious 'Gag Order,' is wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement, including the fact that Crooked Joe Biden, Merrick Garland, and their Hacks and Thugs are tracking and following me all across the Country, obsessively trying to persecute me, while everyone knows I have done nothing wrong!"

The Context

Judge Juan Merchan is presiding over the criminal trial involving Trump and his alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.

The 34-count indictment last spring, the first of four total criminal indictments handed down against Trump last year, alleges that the presumptive Republican nominee for president paid for Daniels' silence so she would not publicly discuss their purported affair.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has accused Trump of falsifying business records to keep the payment under wraps, and the former president has pled not guilty to all charges.

Trump has denied the affair and all charges.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign via email for comment.

What We Know

On Tuesday, Merchan barred Trump from making public statements about individuals involved in the case, in response to Trump previously calling the judge a "certified Trump Hater."

He also referenced the judge's daughter, whose name was never mentioned, as a liberal insider and 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."

Merchan, in a four-page order issued in response to a gag order request from Bragg, directed Trump to "refrain" from making statements about potential witnesses, prosecutors and district attorney staff members, or any prospective jurors in the case.

This particular gag order only applies to Trump commenting on this specific case, and not any others he is or has been involved in.

Similar gag orders have been instituted against Trump in association with his other legal cases. Judge Tanya Chutkan placed restrictions in October on what Trump could say about Special Counsel Jack Smith in relation to his federal election subversion case. Judge Arthur Engoron issued a similar gag order that same month which targeted what the former president could say about the court and others in connection to his civil fraud case in New York.

Views

"Trump can definitely criticize and dispute the legal validity of the gag order," New York City-based attorney Nicole Brenecki told Newsweek via email. "However, the personal attacks on the judge's daughter were petty and unnecessary.

"As of today, there is no evidence that the purported political connections of Ms. Merchan would translate into any bias against Trump during the criminal proceeding."

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday that Merchan's daughter is named Loren and is purportedly the president and partner at a company called Authentic Campaigns, described on its website as "a full-service digital marketing agency for nonprofits and campaigns."

Screenshots show Loren reposting a statement made by Authentic on January 9, 2020, announcing that effective immediately she was named partner and part-owner of the agency.

"No one has done more to grow and help this company succeed than Loren and we're pumped to see her take on a partner role in the company," the post read.

Newsweek reached out to Authentic via email for comment.

Vice President Kamala Harris is allegedly a client of the company, according to Loomer, who told Newsweek that Loren's account blocked her on Wednesday—adding that "Trump saw my post then she locked her account" after her supposed liberal ties were "exposed."

"In my opinion, it's a total conflict of interest," Loomer said via phone. "It's clearly inappropriate. You have the daughter of a judge posting a profile photo on X of President Trump locked up in a prison cell.

"The American people need to ask themselves how would they feel if they faced criminal charges in a trial...and had a child who publicly posted against you and is working for the person [Joe Biden] running against you. It's blatant election interference and I agree with President Trump that [Judge Merchan] should recuse himself."

An X account with the username @lorenm426 shows a profile picture with Trump behind bars. The account is now locked but the photo still appears.

What's Next

The hush-money trial is slated to begin on April 15—the first criminal trial scheduled to commence after numerous delays in the three other cases in Washington, D.C., Florida and Georgia.

Trump faces 91 felony counts in total, denying all allegations and pleading not guilty to all charges.

Update 03/27/24, 12:02 p.m. ET: This story was updated with more information and comments from Nicole Brenecki and Laura Loomer.