House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik filed an ethics complaint Friday against the judge in Trump's hush money case, the Washington Examiner reported. The New York Republican claims that Judge Juan Merchan's daughter reaped financial gains from the case.
This is the second time Stefanik has filed the complaint because Merchan's daughter benefitted from the case against Trump. The first was rejected, but the lawmaker believes that "new information has come to light that merits a fresh look."
Merchan's daughter, Loren Merchan, runs the digital marketing company Authentic Campaigns Inc. It has been exploiting Trump's Manhattan trial to raise money for its clients, which Stefanik believes is a clear ethics violation.
Now it's come to light that Vice President Kamala Harris used the company for her campaign which warrants another examination. "Neither the Appellate Division nor the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics could have known about this material when they issued opinions as to Justice Merchan’s continuing to preside over President Trump’s case," Stefanik wrote in the filing.
Many Democratic candidates hire Authentic Campaigns for their marketing needs. However, Stefanik shared incriminating information in a report to the Federal Election Commission that proved Harris also used the firm despite the obvious conflict.
The Harris campaign paid Authentic Campaigns $468 for web hosting, which Stefanik believes is just the tip of the iceberg. "This indicates that one of the very first things that Harris did upon taking over the Biden campaign infrastructure is to hire this firm, Authentic," Stefanik explained, according to Fox News.
"Loren Merchan, Justice Merchan’s daughter, is its president. Vice President Harris changed web hosting companies from AWS to Authentic immediately after becoming the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee," Stefanik wrote, confirming the recent timing.
"This is merely the beginning of a new contract with a new campaign, regardless of the amount reimbursed. Sure, there’s an immediate benefit, but this is a play at a potential larger benefit for Authentic and Merchan down the road," Stefanik charged in the complaint.
Stefanik believes that this fact "dictates that a judge must recuse from a case where a relative up to and including the sixth degree has a financial interest in the outcome of the case," and this standard applies to the Merchans. "Ms. Merchan is related to Justice Merchan in the first degree. Authentic has a newly active financial relationship with Vice President Harris’s campaign," Stefanik said.
Not long after Stefanik's filing, Merchan ruled to postpone Trump's sentencing until after the election. Stefanik released a statement to X, formerly Twitter, to celebrate the development.
She called it an "incredible win" in the fight against the "illegal lawfare against" Trump. "While the Democrat nominee didn’t earn a single primary vote, Americans have stood by President Trump through unfounded leftist attacks, unfair treatment from liberal stenographers in the mainstream media, and a nearly fatal assassination attempt," Stefanic wrote.
"American voters are smart and know President Trump is the only candidate who can and will save America," she added. Although Merchan has yet to recuse himself, at least he has taken off the table any threat of Trump's imprisonment before the election.
My statement on Acting Justice Merchan delaying President Trump's sentencing following the reopening of my ethics complaint:
"The same day I filed an official ethics complaint shedding new light on Acting Justice Merchan’s egregious conflict of interest, refusing to recuse…
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) September 6, 2024
In their zeal to get Trump, the left has forgotten that the law works both ways. Trump's enemies have tried and failed to take him down, and they've ruined their own credibility in the process.
