In the wake of Donald Trump’s sweeping victory, Republicans are turning their attention to those in the judicial system who went up against the president-elect in the courts.
Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Florida Representatives Anna Paulina Luna and Cory Mills floated the idea that criminal charges could be brought against Judge Juan Merchan – and his daughter Loren Merchan.
Merchan oversaw Trump’s high-profile hush money case where he was ultimately convicted of 34 felonies in New York earlier this year. His daughter subsequently became the target of attacks by the president-elect due to her Democrat-leaning political activities.
“Let’s look at Judge Merchan and his daughter, who was actually a fundraiser and was actually trying to support Kamala Harris and Joe Biden when it came to raising funds on the back of President Trump being in the New York court system,” Mills said.
“I think that what we’re seeing right now is that the Department of Injustice and the lawfare that was going on is now coming to a screeching halt with President-elect Donald Trump coming back into office.”
During the hush money trial, Trump ignored an order from Merchan that he should rein in his fiery posts on social media, in which he accused the judge of having a “Trump-hating family” with ties to Kamala Harris.
“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 – and a lot of it,” he said.
According to Mike Nellis, founder of political consulting firm Authentic Campaigns Inc, which employs Loren Merchan, she did some work for Harris’s presidential campaign in 2019 but never “developed an individual personal relationship” with the candidate, and had only “minimal input or contact with any political clients” during the 2024 election cycle.
Nellis said Merchan had received death threats following Trump’s comments and had been advised to stay away from the family home.
In August, the House judiciary chairman Jim Jordan, a key ally of Trump, subpoenaed the firm to testify as part of his investigation into what he called the “weaponization” of the federal goverment. However, Nellis said any suggestion that the company played any part in Trump’s criminal trial or conviction was “completely false and purely politically motivated.”
On Sunday, Mills and Luna also discussed possible criminal cases being pursued against Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought charges against Trump for trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election and mishandling classified documents.
It was reported this week that Smith and the Justice Department are trying to “wind down” the federal criminal cases against Trump before he returns to the White House in January, in order to comply with its long-standing policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.
“What I will tell you… is that Jack Smith violated the Constitution,” Luna said.
“And I’m really happy that Jim Jordan and the House Judiciary is telling him to preserve evidence because even after President Trump is elected, we need to ensure that this never happens to any other candidate for president ever again.”
She added: “And so we have to follow through, see who exactly ordered that," she continued. "And if it means that we need to bring criminal prosecution, I think that we need to.”
Their comments stopped short of shocking remarks previously aired on Fox, in which hosts Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld joked that Smith and others who had prosecuted Trump should receive the death penalty.
“Dana… a lot of the people that were on this and wanted it so badly, how are they going to survive? Do you think they need therapy,” Gutfeld asked Perino.
“Yes, they definitely need therapy,” the former White House press secretary responded. “Maybe also the death penalty?”
