Exclusive: America First Legal (AFL) is suing New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan for refusing to turn over financial disclosure documents amid questions about his daughter's work for a Democratic-backed company, Fox News Digital has learned.
The AFL sued Marchan, who presided over former President Donald Trump's six-week New York v. Trump trial, which stemmed from a years-long investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, and also sued the Ethics Commission of the New York State Unified Court System.
Trump was convicted of all 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records. Trump appealed the sentence and asked Marchan to overturn it.
The lawsuit was first obtained by Fox News Digital.
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Judge Juan M. Marchan poses in a courtroom on March 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
The lawsuit comes after the AFL wrote to Mr Marchan last week demanding financial disclosures and threatening legal action. The AFL had requested the same records in June.
Under New York law, judges are required to file annual financial disclosure statements and are required to make them available upon request.
“The law is clear that judicial financial disclosures must be made public,” AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. “The New York Supreme Court has made it clear that these disclosures are necessary for parties before the court to receive a fair adjudication.”
“The public needs to know what Judge Marchan is hiding or withholding financial information,” Epstein said.
“This is especially important given the fact that Marchan is on the brink of a criminal conviction for a former president of the United States for his involvement in illegal campaign contributions,” Epstein said. “Fundamental fairness dictates that America First Legal's case should be decided in the company's favor.”
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The AFL is seeking the records due to long-standing concerns about a potential conflict of interest between his daughter's political activities and Mr Marchan's court role.
Former President Donald Trump sits in court during his hush money trial in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool via Reuters)
Lauren Marchand is president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that has run political campaigns for prominent Democratic clients, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Clearly, Judge Marchan's daughter and her clients stand to significantly benefit from their legal battle against President Trump,” the AFL wrote in its complaint.
They also noted that Judge Marchan has donated to Democratic causes, including the Biden campaign and the group “Stop Republicans.”
In July 2023, the Commission on Judicial Conduct warned Marchan about “improper political contributions to the Biden campaign and 'Stop Republicans,'” according to the lawsuit.
On May 28, 2024, in state court in Manhattan, New York City, with Judge Juan Marchan presiding, defense attorney Todd Blanche delivers closing arguments in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump, who is accused of falsifying business records to conceal payments made in 2016 to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
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“Given the seriousness of the criminal case and Judge Marchan's apparent political bias, conflict and prejudice, public interest groups such as the AFL have a compelling interest in obtaining the requested disclosure information and disclosing his financial situation,” the lawsuit states.
Republicans have accused Judge Marchan of political bias over his daughter's political activism. Trump's legal team asked her to step down before the trial began, but she refused.
The New York State Ethics Commission upheld Marchan's decision in a June 2023 decision.
The House Judiciary Committee last week issued a subpoena to Authentic Campaigns, which has refused to provide information and records related to the prosecution of former President Trump in the lawsuit New York State v. Trump.
The committee's chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said Judge Marchan's “impartiality” had been called into question by his daughter's activities and “his refusal to recuse himself from the case given his apparent conflicts of interest and bias.”
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Authentic's CEO responded to the subpoena last week, saying the allegations against the company are “completely false and purely politically motivated.”
“This is a blatant attempt to intimidate us and distract attention from the conviction of Donald Trump,” CEO Michael Nellis said in a statement. “We reject the intimidation. We will not allow House Republicans and MAGA extremists to spread lies about our work.”
President Trump's sentencing is scheduled for September 18. He has asked for the sentencing to be delayed until after the November presidential election.
Marchan has yet to make a decision on the matter.
