First appeared on FOX: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has issued a subpoena seeking information about the political activities of the daughter of New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan.
Jordan sent a letter to Michael Nellis, founder and CEO of Authentic Campaigns, which works for key Democratic clients including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing Nellis of failing to comply with requests from House investigators to turn over all documents relevant to the prosecution of former President Trump.
Earlier this month, the committee sent a letter to the company's president, Lauren Marchan, the daughter of Judge Marchan, requesting the submission of documents from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into Trump's lawsuit.
Jordan noted in his Wednesday letter that Nellis himself denied that request, as well as a follow-up request later that month.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is issuing subpoenas in his investigation into the prosecution of President Trump. (Getty Images)
“The Commission therefore has no choice but to resort to compulsory procedures,” Jordan wrote. “A popularly elected prosecutor like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has committed an unprecedented abuse of power by indicting a former U.S. president and a sitting presidential candidate. Pertinent to the Commission's oversight is the impartiality of the presiding judge, Judge Juan Marchán, who refused to recuse himself from the case on grounds of conflict of interest and bias.”
“One such conflict of interest is Judge Marchan's daughter and president of Authentic Campaigns, Ms. Marchan's work for President Trump's political opponents and the financial benefits that Ms. Marchan and Authentic Campaigns may have derived from the prosecution and conviction of President Trump.”
Jordan said the published reports showed that both Nellis and Lauren Marchand were “highly involved in the presidential campaigns of both President Biden and Vice President Harris.”
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A portrait of Judge Juan Merchan hangs in the courtroom. (Associated Press)
“During Mr. Marchan's time working for the Harris campaign, Authentic Campaigns was paid more than $7 million for its services. Mr. Marchan also worked for then-candidate Harris and appears to continue to do so currently. Authentic Campaigns did work for the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 and was paid just over $2 million in one month for that work, according to public records,” he wrote.
The subpoena is narrower in scope than Jordan's previous information requests. In an Aug. 1 letter, he asked Lauren Marchand to turn over documents related to any prosecution or indictment of Trump, as well as documents related to any work she has done for Biden and Harris.
According to the subpoena reviewed by Fox News Digital, Jordan gave Nellis until Sept. 13 to comply.
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Nellis responded to the subpoena in a post on X on Wednesday afternoon, saying he was “thoroughly reviewing the subpoena with my legal team and will provide an update as more information becomes available.”
“Let's be clear: these allegations against our company are completely false and purely politically motivated,” Nellis wrote. “This is a blatant attempt to intimidate us and distract attention from the conviction of Donald Trump. We reject the intimidation and will not allow House Republicans and MAGA extremists to spread lies about our work. We remain steadfast in our mission and are deeply grateful for the unwavering support of our friends and family during this time.”
According to Jordan, Lauren Marchand worked for Vice President Harris. (Kenny Holston Pool/Getty Images)
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.
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But in his letter, Jordan argued that “Judge Marchan's conflict of interest and bias in his litigation against President Trump, the Republican nominee for president in 2024, implicates the vital interests of the federal government.”
“Congress has a specific and clearly significant interest in preventing politically motivated prosecutions of current and former Presidents, particularly those that are biased or perceived to be biased. In particular, the ability of state and local prosecutors to engage in politically motivated prosecutions of the personal conduct of a President of the United States (current or former) could have a significant impact on how a President chooses to exercise his or her power while in office,” the letter said.
Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with allegations that he paid a porn star to keep quiet about an affair, a charge he denies. His lawyers are appealing the verdict following a Supreme Court decision in July that crystallized presidential immunity.
His sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for September 18th.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Authentic Campaigns for comment.
