The impartiality of the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money case has come under question after news broke that his daughter’s consulting firm worked for numerous high-profile Democratic campaigns, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led the Democrats’ first attempt to impeach Trump in 2019.

Loren Merchan is “president and partner” at Authentic Campaigns, a progressive consulting firm that has 
done work for the Biden-Harris campaign and other high-profile Democratic campaigns, according to its website.

Disqualification of Judges:
Rule 2.11 of the American Bar Association outlines disqualification criteria for judges. A judge must disqualify themselves if their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. This includes situations where:

• The judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or their lawyer.
• The judge has personal knowledge of disputed facts in the proceeding.
• The judge, their spouse, or a close relative has an economic interest in the matter.
• The judge has received campaign contributions from a party or their lawyer.
• The judge has made a public statement committing to a particular result or ruling in the case.
• The judge has a past association with the matter (e.g., served as a lawyer, presided over it in another court).

The judge’s daughter’s role in the consulting firm Authentic Campaigns directly intersects with the case.

Appearance of Bias

The judge’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned due to his daughter’s affiliation.

The public perception might be that the judge could be influenced by his daughter’s connections.

The judge should seriously consider recusing himself from the case.

The daughters involvement with the consulting firm creates a clear conflict of interests.

Recusal would ensure that the legal proceedings remain fair and unbiased.