Donald Trump Jr. sparked outrage on Tuesday by targeting the daughter of a judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s New York quiet money case.
“Because no one says ‘innocent’ like threatening the judge’s family,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) tweeted.
“Let’s be very clear: intimidation and stochastic terror are the core tools of Trump and the fascist movement that supports him. He relies on the consequences of skirting and silencing others – and every time he works, he becomes more dishonest. One of the reasons why accountability is important very.
On Truth Social and Twitter, Trump Jr. has shared a link to an article by the right-wing website Breitbart that features a picture of Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter. The outlet reported that Merchan’s daughter worked for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign during the 2019 presidential election and headed a digital agency that ran campaigns for progressive candidates, including the Biden-Harris campaign.
Donald Trump and his two eldest sons sought the information as evidence of Merchan’s corruption and bias against the accused former president, as well as many of his supporters on social media. Eric Trump has also written the same tweet, but later disappeared from Twitter.
“It seems relevant … but another connection in this hand favors the trial of the democrats. BS never stops people,” wrote Trump Jr., also quoting the title of the article: “Judge’s Daughter on the Trump Case Worked on the Biden-Harris Campaign.”
Eric Trump reportedly complained in a since-deleted tweet, “It’s all hand-picked. It’s all organized. This corruption is on a different level.
In an all-caps Truth Social screed, Donald Trump accused Merchan of being “extremely partisan” from a family of “well-known Trump haters.”
The former president surrendered in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday afternoon, where he was arrested. He faces 34 felony charges because he falsified business records to hide $130,000 in cash he paid porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign to keep Daniels from coming forward about the alleged affair.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) also weighed in Trump Jr.’s post about the judge’s daughter, wrote: “Make no mistake, Donald Trump is trying to prevent the legal system from being held accountable by inciting violence and spreading misinformation.”
Legal experts and law enforcement are also concerned. Frank Figliuzzi, former assistant director of the FBI, said the post “contributes to the picture of risk and threat and is an indicator of the threat strategy that will be implemented.”
Several conservative figures also opposed the move, including Lincoln Project adviser Jeff Timmer, Republican political consultant Frank Luntz, former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois and conservative attorney George Conway.
During Trump’s arraignment, Merchan warned him not to use social media to incite violence. Trump had written threatening social media posts in the weeks leading up to the indictment, spreading conspiracy theories about the proceedings and attacking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.