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Subpoena issued against daughter of Trump judge

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The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed a progressive campaign firm amid an ongoing political dispute over the criminal conviction of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote to the founder of Authentic Campaigns on Wednesday to plead for the release of previously requested information that could facilitate oversight of Trump's New York criminal proceedings. The daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the New York hush money trial, works at Authentic Campaigns.

“Voter-elected prosecutors like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have abused their authority to an unprecedented degree by prosecuting a former President of the United States and current candidate for that office,” the letter said. “Concerned for the Committee's oversight is the impartiality of Judge Juan Merchan, the presiding judge, as he has refused to recuse himself from the case in light of his obvious conflicts of interest and bias.”

Authentic Campaigns did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, but founder Mike Nellis called the subpoena on X a politically motivated intimidation tactic:

“This is yet another abuse of power aimed at spreading a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory linking our company, Authentic, to the Donald Trump fraud trial,” Nellis wrote. “We are thoroughly reviewing the subpoena with our legal team and will provide updates as we have more information.”

Latest about Juan Merchan: Donald Trump loses attempt to remove New York hush money judge over connection to Kamala Harris

Trump failed in several attempts to remove Juan Merchan because of his daughter's work

In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records after a jury found that he concealed repayments for hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Judge Juan Merchan presided over the case and has been a frequent target of political attacks.

Judge Merchan's daughter, Loren Merchan, works at Authentic Campaigns, a company that works with Democratic candidates and nonprofits.

Trump has tried three times to replace the judge in the case, arguing that Loren Merchan's work creates real or perceived conflicts of interest. The most recent attempt came after Kamala Harris took Joe Biden's place in the Democratic presidential race.

The New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics previously concluded that the case did not involve Loren Merchan or her company “directly or indirectly.”

The summons is the latest political attack on the conviction

During the trial, several House Republicans visited the Manhattan courthouse to denigrate Merchan and question the integrity of the legal process. (Trump was prevented from discussing the individuals involved in the case because of a news blackout.) The House Judiciary Committee also called the prosecution part of a “vendetta” before Trump was even convicted.

Jordan's letter on Wednesday says the committee has repeatedly asked Authentic Campaigns to voluntarily hand over documents and information since August 1. According to Jordan's letter, the organization has refused and accuses them of evading the request. The letter also asks Authentic Campaigns to provide an affidavit if they cannot find relevant documents.

“The requested material will serve as a basis for the House of Representatives' consideration of whether to advance, based on committee oversight, a bill that, if passed, would provide relief for politically motivated local prosecutions by allowing a sitting or former president to refer the case to a more neutral forum, a federal court,” the letter said.

“This is a blatant attempt to intimidate us and distract us from Donald Trump's conviction,” Nellis said in his post on X. “We will not be intimidated and will not allow Republicans in the House or MAGA extremists to spread lies about our work.”

USA TODAY has reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign and the Trump-Vance campaign for comment.

Trump has filed a motion to overturn the hush money conviction, citing the Supreme Court's immunity test. Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for September 18, but Trump has asked that the hearing be postponed until after the election.

Contributors: Aysha Bagchi, Bart Jansen

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