New York judge handling Trump case hit with new ethics inquiry request – Washington Examiner
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is advocating for a new investigation into Judge Juan Merchan, who presides over former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York. Stefanik’s call for inquiry stems from allegations that Merchan’s daughter is exploiting the high-profile case for financial gain through her fundraising agency, Authentic Campaigns.
In an ethics complaint submitted to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Stefanik claims that new information, particularly campaign finance reports showing that Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign has utilized Merchan’s daughter’s services, warrants a reevaluation of the judge’s potential conflict of interest. This follows a previous investigation request by Stefanik that was dismissed by the commission. She argues that the prior bodies reviewing the case could not have considered this new evidence, suggesting that it is significant enough to merit further scrutiny.
Stefanik revives investigation request into New York judge overseeing Trump case
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is pushing for an inquiry into the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York over allegations that his daughter is using the criminal indictment for personal financial gain.
In an ethics complaint submitted Friday to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Stefanik pressed the board to reconsider opening an investigation into Judge Juan Merchan over allegations that his daughter is leveraging Trump’s high-profile hush money trial to make money through her fundraising agency. The complaint comes months after Stefanik filed an initial inquiry request that was later rejected by the commission.
But now, Stefanik claims “new information has come to light that merits a fresh look” into the possible conflict of interest, citing campaign finance reports that indicate Kamala Harris’s campaign has hired Merchan’s daughter’s company after the vice president replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket.
“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.
Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is the president of Authentic Campaigns, a digital marketing and fundraising agency aligned with several Democratic lawmakers and political action committees.
In her complaint, Stefanik cited a report filed by the Harris campaign to the Federal Election Commission that includes a $468 payment to Authentic Campaigns for web hosting purposes.
“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 wrote.
The complaint comes on the same day Merchan decided to delay Trump’s sentencing in the hush money case until after Election Day, a significant win for the former president as he seeks to appeal the conviction. The sentencing in that case is now scheduled for Nov. 26.
Stefanik, a fierce Trump supporter on Capitol Hill, has submitted several ethics complaints on his behalf, arguing that Democrats are using his criminal trials to damage him politically as the Republican presidential nominee. However, many of the complaints have been rejected by those overseeing the cases while other pending complaints have not resulted in significant changes.
It is not clear whether action will be taken on the latest complaint as the trial has already concluded. The Washington Examiner contacted the Harris campaign and the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct for comment.
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