While leading an impeachment effort against Trump, Adam Schiff’s campaign paid a $600,000 fee to a consulting firm headed by the daughter of the judge overseeing Trump’s hush money case.
Federal Election Commission reports reveal that Schiff’s campaign committee disbursed over $3.7 million to Authentic Campaigns, Loren Merchan’s firm, for digital media acquisitions from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020.
The lucrative contracts Loren Merchan, the judge’s daughter, has with some of Trump's notable adversaries are contrary to claims of Trump making unfair “attacks.” Particularly concerning are her connections to Schiff, especially given his involvement with a main witness for Bragg, convicted perjurer and disbarred lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen is expected to be a witness in Judge Merchan's courtroom next month.
Judge Merchan, who has overseen various Trump-related cases and is set to preside over the May trial of Steve Bannon for alleged fraud, denied Trump’s request to recuse himself in August 2023. Loren Merchan’s client list was the basis for Trump’s request.
Schiff met with Cohen at least four times in 2019, two times under the ruse of investigating Trump-Russia election collusion. It is now known that Cohen was also asked questions about the alleged hush money scheme. The same month Schiff released transcripts from depositions with Cohen, his committee paid Merchan’s firm $57,500 for digital media and consulting.
The assertion that Merchan’s business is disconnected from the proceedings before her father’s court is provably inaccurate. Schiff continues to be a client of Loren Merchan while offering opinions about the case before Judge Merchan, a clear conflict of interest.
The question remains if Loren Merchan advised Schiff on any matter related to Cohen.
