Recent financial filings reveal that Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign paid the daughter of the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s New York "hush money" trial.
The revelation of Harris's payment has raised concerns of conflict of interest, with GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik having filed a judicial ethics complaint against Judge Juan Merchan, as the lawmaker herself explained on X.
Kamala Harris’s Federal Election Commission (FEC) report from July 2024 indicates a payment of $468.00 to Authentic Campaigns, Inc., a firm owned by Loren Merchan, the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan. Judge Merchan is the presiding judge in the high-profile trial involving Donald Trump and alleged payments to Stormy Daniels. Harris’s payment has fueled a political storm, with allegations that the judge’s impartiality could be compromised.
Judge Juan Merchan played a key role in overseeing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Trump. The case involves accusations that Trump orchestrated a payment to silence adult film actress Stormy Daniels. His connection to the case has drawn attention in light of new financial information.
Loren Merchan's firm, Authentic Campaigns, has worked extensively with Democratic candidates, including President Biden and Vice President Harris. It has reportedly received millions from campaigns seeking to counter Trump. With the new information about Harris’s payments to the company, concerns over the relationship between Judge Merchan’s family and high-profile Democrats have intensified.
Stefanik, in her latest ethics complaint, contends that Judge Merchan’s involvement in Trump’s case is inappropriate, given his daughter’s financial interests. The New York State Judicial Code of Conduct mandates that a judge must recuse themselves from a case if a relative up to the sixth degree has a financial interest in its outcome.
“Today I filed a new judicial ethics complaint with the New York State Commission because new evidence on Kamala Harris’ most recent FEC filing shows she hired and paid Acting Justice Juan Merchan’s adult daughter’s company,” said Stefanik. She has been vocal about her concerns that Merchan’s daughter and her clients could benefit financially from the ongoing legal battles surrounding Trump.
The ethics complaint is not the first to be filed against Judge Merchan. Stefanik had previously filed a complaint in May 2024, but it was rejected by the New York State Commission in July. The current complaint draws on new evidence from Harris’s FEC filing, raising fresh doubts about the impartiality of the judge in such a politically charged case.
The timing of the FEC report coincides with key developments in both the Trump case and Kamala Harris’s political trajectory. On July 21, President Biden announced that he would not seek a second term, making Harris the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 election. Less than two weeks later, her campaign disclosed the payment to Loren Merchan’s firm.
America First Legal (AFL), a conservative legal group, has also become involved in the case, filing a lawsuit demanding financial disclosures from Judge Merchan. AFL’s legal team stated, “Clearly, Justice Merchan’s daughter and her clients stand to profit handsomely from lawfare against President Trump.”
In addition to the ethics complaint, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has taken steps to investigate the matter further. Jordan subpoenaed Authentic Campaigns, Inc. in an effort to gather more information about the company’s financial dealings with Democratic candidates and any possible connection to Trump’s legal battles.
This investigation adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing ethical debate surrounding the judge and his daughter’s involvement in the case.
As Trump’s sentencing date still looms, questions about the integrity of the legal process have only grown louder.
