Fact check: How nice of the judge whose daughter's company was paid 9 million dollars from the Biden-Harris campaign.

1. Summary of the results

The original statement contains both accurate and misleading elements. While it's true that Judge Juan Merchan's daughter, Loren Merchan, was connected to the Biden-Harris campaign through her work at Authentic Campaigns and served as Director of Digital Persuasion for Kamala Harris' 2020 presidential campaign ^{[1] [1]}, the implied $9 million payment appears to be inaccurate. The documented payments include $4 million from Adam Schiff's campaign to Authentic Campaigns ^[2], and a much smaller $468 payment from the Harris campaign ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial pieces of context are missing from the original statement:

• The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has cleared Judge Merchan of any wrongdoing ^[3]
• The New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics found no reason for the judge to recuse himself, as his daughter's business was not directly involved in the proceedings ^[2]
• The payments were made to Authentic Campaigns as a company, not directly to Loren Merchan personally ^[2]
• Even a former Trump lawyer acknowledged there was no evidence of bias ^[2]
• Judge Merchan has taken steps to address potential concerns by postponing Trump's sentencing until after the election ^[3]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement appears designed to create an impression of improper judicial conduct through several misleading elements:

• It conflates company revenue with personal payments, suggesting Loren Merchan personally received $9 million ^[2]
• It omits the fact that multiple ethics bodies have reviewed and cleared any potential conflicts of interest ^{[3] [2]}
• The sarcastic tone ("How nice") implies corruption without providing evidence

Those who benefit from this narrative include:

• Political opponents seeking to delegitimize the judicial proceedings
• Rep. Elise Stefanik, who filed an ethics complaint about the matter ^[3]
• Media outlets and political figures who gain attention and support by promoting allegations of judicial bias