Donald Trump attacked Loren Merchan, the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan who is presiding over the Manhattan hush-money case against the former president, on social media on Tuesday, claiming she is a top executive at a "Super Liberal Democrat firm" that works for "Crooked [President]Joe Biden."
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote: "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 [Democratic California Representative] Adam 'Shifty' Schiff, the Democrat National Committee, (Dem)Senate Majority PAC, and even Crooked Joe Biden."
Judge Merchan's family is in the spotlight after Trump launched a series of online attacks as the case against him is set to go to trial on April 15. The former president has been accused of allegedly falsifying business records relating to hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign in a case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump, who is the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims the case is politically motivated. Daniels has alleged that in 2006 she had sex with Trump, who has denied the claim.
Judge Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump on Tuesday, barring him from making public statements about those involved in the case.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign and lawyer, as well as Merchan via the New York court public information office, by email for comment.
According to a June 2022 wedding announcement in Politico, Loren Merchan was the president and partner of Authentic Campaigns, a progressive political consulting firm.
The announcement read: "Loren Merchan, president and partner of Authentic Campaigns, and Taylor Harper, geographer at the U.S. Census, got married on Saturday in Moseley, Va. The ceremony was officiated by the bride's father, New York County Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan."
Authentic Campaigns has listed Vice President Kamala Harris' 2020 presidential campaign, Kamala Harris for the People, the Biden-Harris campaign and Schiff's super Political Action Committee (PAC) as clients.
Loren Merchan was also listed as the director of digital persuasion for the Kamala Harris for the People campaign in an archived January 2019 announcement.
Under her name and title was a blurb about her previous work, which included vice president and director of digital advertising at Authentic Campaigns.
According to the biography, Merchan has also had other roles in various marketing and communication firms, including Revolution Messaging, Bayard Advertising and Discovery Communications. She worked her way up to vice president of advertising at Revolution Messaging, a progressive political marketing firm.
Merchan earned a master's degree in advertising from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2012 after receiving a bachelor's degree in creative writing, business and sociology from SUNY Geneseo, a state university in New York, in 2011.
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