Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at 40 Wall Street on March 25, 2024 in New York.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Donald Trump on Wednesday again targeted a judge’s daughter on social media in an upcoming criminal trial involving hidden money – a day after a judge imposed a silence order limiting what Trump can say in the case.
Trump, v True Social screedhe described New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan as a “hater” and renewed calls for him to withdraw from the case.
Trump pointed to Merchan’s daughter’s work in progressive politics and a social media account he claims belongs to her as evidence that it’s “completely impossible” for him to offer a “fair trial.”
Merchan’s daughter “represents Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff and other radical liberals, [and] she just posted a photo of me behind bars, which is her obvious goal,” Trump said.
In the posts, for the second day in a row, Trump highlighted Merchan’s daughter’s role as president of Authentic Campaigns, a Democratic political consulting firm. The company touts its work on behalf of clients including President Joe Biden, whom Trump is campaigning against, and other Democratic groups and politicians.
“Maybe the judge hates a lot because his daughter is earning money working on ‘Get Trump’ and when she rules against me over and yet again, it makes her company and her richer and richer,” Trump wrote. – How can this be allowed?
Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, declined to comment on Trump’s posts in light of the order of silence that prohibits him from making certain statements about “relations of any legal adviser or staff member.”
The posts extended Trump’s series of attacks on Mercan that began after a judge set an April 15 hearing in the hush money case. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a secret cash payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump’s latest attacks on Merchan’s daughter went further than his previous comments, claiming she “just posted” a photo of him behind bars.
Trump apparently referenced social media account on X, which Authentic previously had related with Merchan’s daughter.
On Wednesday, this X account featured a modified photo of Trump’s head behind metal bars as its profile photo. On Wednesday afternoon, that profile photo was changed to a childhood photo of Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris shared the photo on social media during the 2019 Democratic primary, shortly after she attacked then-rival Biden over his busing record.
It is unclear whether the account currently belongs to Merchan’s daughter. The X indicates that the account “joined in April 2023”, which is a few months after Authentic Lately he mentioned it on social media.
This month, Trump was impeached in the hush money case. Around the same time, multiple right-wing news outlets published reports about Merchan’s daughter’s political activities.
Posts on account X are protected, which means only approved followers can view them. A spokesman for the New York courts did not immediately respond to CNBC’s inquiry to confirm or deny that the account now belongs to Merchan’s daughter.
Still, Trump insisted Wednesday that the account belonged to her, while condemning his latest order of silence.
“So let me get this straight, the judge’s daughter can post photos of her ‘dream’ of putting me in jail, the Manhattan prosecutor can tell any lies about me, the judge can violate our laws and structure at every turn, but I’m not allowed to discuss attacks on me and about the madmen who try to destroy my life and forestall me from winning the 2024 presidential election during which I dominate?” he wrote.
The silence order imposed on Tuesday doesn’t completely limit Trump from talking about his critics. He remains to be free to criticize the prosecutor in his case, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and shouldn’t be expressly prohibited from speaking out about Merchan himself.
Trump, nonetheless, is barred from making public statements about likely witnesses and jurors in the case.
He also cannot discuss the lawyers handling the case, court employees, prosecutor’s office employees and their relations if these statements are made with the “intent to significantly disrupt” the proceedings.
Merchan wrote in his order that Trump’s previous statements about various people involved in the case “were threatening and inflammatory.” [and] slander.”
“Such inflammatory statements undoubtedly have the potential to impede the proper functioning of the Court,” the judge wrote, also noting “the nature and impact of the statements made against the Court and his family member.”
“As the eve of the trial approaches, there is no doubt that the inevitability of the risk of harm is paramount right now,” he wrote.
Around this time, Trump mentioned Merchan’s daughter on Truth Social arraignment in the case of hush money.
Trump’s lawyers referenced Merchan’s daughter’s work in a lawsuit filed last May, calling on the judge to withdraw from the case.
Merchan in August rejected to do this.
