submitted to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct on Tuesday, Stefanik is urging Judge Juan Merchan to step downover allegations his daughter is leveraging the trial to make money through her fundraising agency. The complaint comes as other House Republicans have also targeted Merchan over his daughter’s politics, deeming it a conflict of interest.
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. Shortly after Trump’s initial indictment in April 2023 in the hush money trial, several Democrats were quick to use the charges in fundraising material, including clients whom Loren Merchan represented.
Stefanik also pointed to fundraising emails by the Senate Majority PAC, also represented by Authentic Campaigns, that made a similar fundraising plea. Stefanik argued Juan Merchan is required to recuse himself from the case under the Rules of Judicial Conduct for the New York State Unified Court System, which states that a judge is disqualified from a case if he or she, or a person that is closely connected to them, “has an interest that could be substantially affected by the proceeding.”