Donald Trump once again went scorched earth against the daughter of the judge overseeing his New York hush-money trial on Thursday, posting a fiery rant to Truth Social that called her out by name.
That woman, Loren Merchan, has become the focal point of Trump’s attacks against her dad, Judge Juan Merchan, in his longshot attempt to have him ousted as the judge presiding over his criminal case in New York.
Trump has decried Loren’s position as president of a political consulting firm that’s worked with Democrats, as well as anti-Trump social media posts he wrongly attributed to her, saying they should disqualify Judge Merchan from his case because it somehow shows he’s biased.
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“Judge Juan Merchan is totally compromised, and should be removed from this TRUMP Non-Case immediately,” he posted Thursday afternoon. “His Daughter, Loren, is a Rabid Trump Hater, who has admitted to having conversations with her father about me, and yet he gagged me.”
Judge Merchan issued a gag order against Trump on Tuesday that’s barred him from lashing out publicly at prosecutors, court staff, and any of their family members. That order did not include Merchan or his daughter, however, and Trump has used the duo as an outlet to direct his rage over the case.
Trump has been particularly fixated on the political work of Merchan’s daughter, suggesting her supposed political leanings are enough to influence how her dad treats him in a criminal trial.
“She works for Crooked Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, and other Radical Leftists who Campaign on ‘Getting Trump,’” he said, adding that her work has created a “TOTAL Conflict.”
In his latest rant, Trump made no mention of social media posts he previously claimed were made by Merchan, however.
That’s likely because a representative for the New York state court system pointed out that the account Trump attributed to her in his initial rant against on Wednesday didn’t actually belong to her.
Instead, Al Baker, a a spokesperson for the New York Office of Court Administration, told The Daily Beast that the posts Trump cited as hers, which included a photo that showed him behind bars, came from a total stranger.
“The X, formerly Twitter, account being attributed to Judge Merchan’s daughter no longer belongs to her since she deleted it approximately a year ago,” he said. “It is not linked to her email address, nor has she posted under that screenname since she deleted the account.
“Rather, it represents the reconstitution, last April, and manipulation of an account she long ago abandoned.”
Still, Trump has yet to delete the posts in question. In that rambling rant from Wednesday, he accused the Merchan family of being out to get him as he whined about being put under a gag order.
“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?” he said. “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 is facing a total of four criminal trials, including the hush-money trial being presided over by Merchan in New York. In that case, Trump faces a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records over a $130,000 hush-money payment he’s accused of directing his ex-fixer Michael Cohen to make to adult film star Stormy Daniels shortly before his 2016 election triumph.
Trump has pleaded not guilty in that case, and continues to claim he never had sex with Daniels.
Merchan said previously that he was “bending over backwards and straining” to make sure that Trump had the freedom to speak his mind about his trial as he makes another White House run. This week, however, Merchan said he was forced to change course because Trump can’t help but attack those involved in the case—prompting the new gag order that’s set Trump off against his daughter.
