A day after New York judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order on Donald Trump ahead of his hush money trial in April, the former president has called for the “biased and conflicted” judge to recuse himself.
Trump took to Truth Social Wednesday to rail against both the judge and his daughter, accusing them of suffering from “an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
In the post Wednesday, Trump raged that Judge Merchan had issued “a vicious Gag Order,” and was “wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement.”
Trump also pointed out that the judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is a Democrat campaign operative who has worked for Senator John Tester (D-Mont.), Kamala Harris, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif), among others.
Pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer on Tuesday posted screenshots on X exposing Loren Merchan’s political activities, including her X avatar that depicts Trump behind bars.
“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.
“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!” he added.
Trump continued in a subsequent post: “So, let me get this straight, the Judge’s daughter is allowed to post pictures of her “dream” of putting me in jail, the Manhattan D.A. is able to say whatever lies about me he wants, the Judge can violate our Laws and Constitution at every turn, but I am not allowed to talk about the attacks against me, and the Lunatics trying to destroy my life, and prevent me from winning the 2024 Presidential Election, which I am dominating? Maybe the Judge is such a hater because his daughter makes money by working to “Get Trump,” and when he rules against me over and over again, he is making her company, and her, richer and richer. How can this be allowed?”
Trump called on Merchan to “recuse himself immediately, and right the wrong committed by not doing so last year.”
If the Biased and Conflicted Judge is allowed to stay on this Sham “Case,” it will be another sad example of our Country becoming a Banana Republic, not the America we used to know and love. These are Election Interfering Witch Hunts. We will crush each one of these Hoaxes, and Make America Great Again!
Merchan issued the gag order against the 2024 GOP presumptive presidential nominee at the behest of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, saying his “prior extrajudicial statements” establish “a sufficient risk to the administration of justice,” Fox News reported Tuesday.
The order stipulates that Trump cannot “make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses” or about counsel in the case (other than Bragg), “or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.”
Trump will appear before Judge Merchan on April 15 for the commencement of the “hush money” trial. Bragg indicted Trump on 34-counts a year ago, accusing the former president of falsifying business records to hide “hush money” payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal in 2016 to secure their silence about extramarital affairs he allegedly had with them years earlier.
As Breitbart News reported one year ago, Loren Merchan’s archived LinkedIn account reveals that she is president and partner of Authentic Campaigns, a company that runs digital campaigns for Democrat candidates, including Adam Schiff, the “Biden-Harris” campaign, California governor Gavin Newsom, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Cory Booker.
According to her archived LinkedIn account, she also worked as the “Director of Digital Persuasion” for “Kamala Harris For The People” from February 2019 through December 2019.
In a report claiming that Judge Merchan and his family received “dozens of threats” due to Trump’s rhetoric last year, NBC News said: “There’s no available evidence to suggest that Merchan’s daughter has done any subsequent work for Biden and no evidence to suggest that she ‘now’ works for a Biden political operation.”
In his gag order Tuesday, Merchan referred to previous statements Trump has made in the past, calling them “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating.”
“lndeed, his statements were threatening, inflammatory, denigrating, and the targets of his statements ranged from local and federal officials, court and court staff, prosecutors and staff assigned to the cases, and private individuals including grand jurors performing their civic duty,” Merchan said. “The consequences of those statements included not only fear on the part of the individual targeted, but also the assignment of increased security resources to investigate threats and protect the individuals and family members thereof.”
The Trump campaign called the decision “unconstitutional,” and said that it violates the civil rights of Trump’s supporters.
“Judge Merchan’s unconstitutional Gag Order prevents President Trump—the leading candidate for President of the United States—from engaging in core political speech, which is entitled to the highest level of protection under the First Amendment,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Fox News. “Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, at the direction of Crooked Joe Biden, chose to indict President Trump in the middle of campaign season in a politically motivated attempt to derail his candidacy, and the First Amendment allows President Trump to speak out against this unconstitutional tyranny.”
Cheung added: “Worst of all, the gag order violates the civil rights of over 100 million Americans who follow President Trump and have a First Amendment right to receive and listen to his speech.”
The spokesman told Fox that “American voters have a fundamental right to hear the uncensored voice of the leading candidate for the highest office in the land.”
“President Trump will keep fighting for our country and our Constitution,” said Cheung.