House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has written to Loren Merchan, the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, requesting information regarding her campaign firm’s work on behalf of President Donald Trump’s political adversaries and any potential financial benefit it may have received from his prosecution and conviction. Jordan asserts that Judge Merchan presided over New York County District Attorney (DANY) Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of Trump, which used a convoluted and novel legal theory to indict President Trump on charges that federal officials had previously declined to pursue.
The House Judiciary Committee has heard expert testimony detailing the conflicts of interest of Judge Merchan, with experts raising substantial concerns about his refusal to recuse himself from President Trump’s case despite Loren Merchan’s work on behalf of Trump’s political adversaries and the financial benefit her firm, Authentic Campaigns Inc., could receive from the prosecution and conviction.
Following Trump’s indictment by Bragg in April 2023 and his subsequent conviction by Judge Merchan’s court in May 2024, Loren Merchan’s clients received a surge of donations after directly campaigning on the guilty verdict. Jordan notes that two of Authentic Campaigns’ top clients—Representative Adam Schiff and the Senate Majority PAC—have raised “at least $93 million in campaign donations” while referencing the indictments in their solicitation emails.
The Biden-Harris campaign paid Authentic Campaigns just over $2 million in a one-month period for its work, according to public records cited by Jordan. The Judiciary Committee is leading House efforts to consider legislation that would remedy politically motivated local prosecutions by allowing a current or former president to remove the case to a more neutral forum in federal court.
Jordan and his committee have focused on possible misconduct by Bragg and Merchan, with experts explaining how Judge Merchan made several errors before and during President Trump’s trial that violated due process, infringed upon his First Amendment rights, and prevented him from receiving a fair trial. Jordan asks Loren Merchan for documents pertaining to her firm’s work with the Biden-Harris campaign and other relevant Democratic campaigns as well as committees, and internal documents referencing “lawfare” against Trump. He requests these documents by 5:00 pm EST on August 8, 2024.