Breaking down Trump’s attacks on the daughter of the judge in his New York hush-money trial

Washington CNN —

Former President Donald Trump recently ramped up his attacks against the daughter of the judge presiding over his hush-money criminal trial in New York, and repeatedly cited her Democratic ties in a new attempt this week to remove the judge from the case.

Judge Juan Merchan then broadened an already-existing gag order Monday after Trump vilified Merchan’s daughter with a combination of accurate information about her political affiliations melded with dubious claims about her supposed anti-Trump online posts, which the court says don’t even belong to her.

The judge ruled that Trump’s “dangerous rhetoric” threatens the integrity of the looming trial, which is scheduled to begin April 15. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in order to prevent her from speaking publicly before the 2016 election about their alleged affair.

Here are the facts about Trump’s recent attacks against Merchan’s daughter, and how this sideshow could affect the first-ever criminal trial of a former American president.

What did Trump claim?

There is a well-documented pattern of Trump attacking witnesses and bashing judges when he doesn’t like their testimony or rulings. He deployed this same tactic in the New York case, but went even farther by targeting Merchan’s adult daughter, Loren Merchan.

Last week, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Judge Merchan is a “certified Trump hater” and said Loren Merchan is a senior executive at “a Super Liberal Democrat firm” that has worked with top Democrats, including President Joe Biden.

Trump also peddled the discredited claimed that Loren Merchan posted an incendiary image