Trump targets judge’s wife and daughter after being warned about threats

Trump targets judge’s wife and daughter after being warned about threats

Former President Donald Trump targeted the family of a New York judge overseeing his indictment, hours after that same judge warned him not to threaten anyone’s safety.

“This is where we are right now. I have a Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and family, whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign,” Trump said Tuesday night in a speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Trump was referring to Judge Juan Merchan, six hours after Merchan reportedly told the ex-president in a Manhattan courtroom not to make any comments that could “jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals.” Merchan did not issue a gag order, but advised against statements “likely to incite violence or civil unrest.”

Trump criticized Merchan as “highly partisan” and called his family “well known Trump haters” on his social media platform Truth Social earlier Tuesday. Trump also complained about how Merchan presided over the criminal trial of the Trump Organization where the Trump company’s former CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to financial crimes.

“HE WAS AN UNFAIR DISASTER ON A PREVIOUS TRUMP RELATED CASE, WOULDN’T RECUSE, GAVE HORRIBLE JURY INSTRUCTIONS, & IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH DURING THE WITCH HUNT TRIAL. HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR ‘KAMALA’ & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN. KANGAROO COURT!!!” Trump wrote.

Insider reports Trump did not provide evidence for his claims made about Merchan and his family, but Newsweek noted that the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., posted right-wing articles on social media identifying the judge’s daughter as Loren Merchan, president and partner of Authentic Campaigns. The company’s website says it runs digital campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden-Harris campaign.

Trump’s family also posted photos of Loren and suggested it’s evidence that Judge Merchan is biased against the former president.

“This corruption is on a different level,” Eric Trump tweeted.

Former President Donald Trump is well known for attacking his critics, political opponents and others, often including family members. Trump called Manhattan District Attorney Bragg’s spouse a “Trump hating wife” and previously mocked Elaine Chao, the wife of Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Trump was arraigned Tuesday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, largely related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. The first former president to be charged with crimes pleaded not guilty on all counts.