Juan Merchan is the Manhattan judge who became a household name, so to say, for one reason: he ran the courtroom during Donald Trump‘s hush money trial. These days, though, it’s his daughter Loren pulling him back into headlines, after a Democratic fundraising firm she once worked for landed on the radar of federal prosecutors in Chicago. The New York Times first reported the investigation.

Merchan oversaw the case that ended in Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts back in May 2024. At the heart of it was a 130,000 dollar payment to Stormy Daniels, the porn star who says she had an affair with Trump and threatened to reveal it during his 2016 campaign. Prosecutors argued Trump falsified business records to keep that payment hidden.

Trump wasted no time going after the judge. Just after his arraignment in April 2023, he posted on Truth Social calling Merchan biased and claiming the judge “hates me.” He said Merchan “must be changed.” Things escalated further in March 2024 once Merchan locked in a trial date and issued a limited gag order. Trump called it illegal, un American, and a violation of his First Amendment rights, framing it as part of a Democratic scheme to weaponize the courts against him. He also suggested, without any evidence, that Merchan was protecting his daughter’s political consulting business.

The client roster tied up in this is notable. A grand jury subpoena reviewed by the publication names former Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Joe Biden, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and the Democratic National Committee among the firm’s clients.

Loren Merchan was named directly in the investigation. Her firm didn’t just hand over documents quietly either. Authentic Campaigns fought the subpoena, bringing in former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara as part of its legal team. Eventually, after back and forth negotiations, prosecutors agreed to narrow their ask. What they zeroed in on was surprisingly specific: a 468 dollar payment from Harris’ presidential campaign, plus emails between Loren and her father. That detail comes from people close to the investigation who spoke to the publication anonymously, since the probe hasn’t wrapped up.

Either way, the case adds to a growing list of examples where federal prosecutors, an institution that used to sit well outside partisan politics, have found themselves caught up in Trump’s broader campaign against people he sees as political enemies.