New York Supreme Court acting justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan District Court, recently hit the ex-president with a gag order preventing him from attacking any witnesses in the upcoming trial. Trump responded to that gag order by repeatedly attacking Merchan and his daughter on social media.
In a post to his Truth Social platform — which is followed by nearly seven million people — Trump unleashed on Judge Merchan and his adult daughter, Loren (whom he didn't mention by name) and accused them of having "an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."
"[Judge Merchan] has now issued another illegal, un-American, unConstitutional 'order,' as he continues to try and take away my Rights," Trump wrote. "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!"
READ MORE: 'Complete disrespect': Legal experts say Trump's attacks on judges will tank his appeals
The former president said Loren Merchan posted a photo of him behind bars, and argued that it was "completely impossible for [him] to get a fair trial." This appears to be a reference to a private account on X/Twitter with the handle @LorenM426 and a profile photo of Trump behind a set of prison bars. That account has not been independently verified to belong to Judge Merchan's daughter.
Trump also accused Merchan's daughter of "representing" President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) and other prominent Democrats. Loren Merchan is listed as "president and partner" at Authentic Campaigns, which is a consulting firm that performed services for the Biden-Harris campaign and had a testimonial from Schiff on its website. An archived LinkedIn page also showed that she was "director of digital persuasion" for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in 2019.
NBC News reported that "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." Still, that hasn't stopped Trump from alleging that Loren Merchan's own political work affects her father's ability to oversee Trump's trial (which, unlike the New York civil fraud trial, will be decided by a jury instead of from the bench).
"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?" Trump wrote in a separate post on Wednesday. "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?"
READ MORE: Michael Cohen predicts Trump will be found 'guilty on all charges' in Manhattan trial
Trump's trial in Manhattan was originally scheduled to begin this week. However, an 11th hour document dump from the Department of Justice about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen (that came about from a January request from Trump's legal team) prompted a sudden delay in proceedings so both sides could review the roughly 200,000 pages of documents. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said only a few hundred pages of the dump were actually relevant to the case.
While Trump requested a 90-day postponement, Bragg offered a 30-day compromise. Merchan allowed a slight delay of a few weeks, with the trial now set to begin on April 15. Because the former president's three other remaining criminal trials have yet to get a scheduled date on the calendar, the Manhattan trial may be the only one that produces a verdict prior to election day.
The 45th president of the United States was indicted last spring on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. That payment was allegedly made in an effort to prevent her from speaking publicly about her affair with Trump prior to the 2016 election. Bragg is arguing that felony charges — rather than misdemeanors — are justified when viewed through the lens as a campaign expenditure.
READ MORE: 'There's going to be a criminal conviction': Ex-Trump attorney predicts guilty verdict in NY