Trump: Biden Admin ‘Tried to Force Charlie, and Many Other People and Movements, Out of Business’Jasmyn Jordan 17 Sep 2025
President Donald Trump on Tuesday stated that the Biden administration and former special counsel Jack Smith targeted conservative groups including Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, weaponized the Justice Department against political opponents, and allowed Judge Juan Merchan to preside over a trial against him despite what Trump described as a conflict of interest involving the judge’s daughter’s fundraising for Democrats.
Trump wrote on Truth Social:
Why was the wonderful Turning Point under INVESTIGATION by “Deranged” Jack Smith and the Corrupt & Incompetent Biden Administration. They tried to force Charlie, and many other people and movements, out of business. They Weaponized the Justice Department against Sleepy Joe Biden’s Political Opponents, including ME! They allowed the daughter of a Judge, on one of the corrupt trials against me, to become the biggest fund raiser for Biden and Kamala, making many Millions of Dollars for herself and her family, but with her father, the Judge, not only refusing to RECUSE himself, but putting a gag order on me, not allowing ANY talk about their family corruption and unprecedented conflict of interest. Every leading legal analyst and pundit said this trial was wrong and should not have been allowed to go forward. But it did because of a Corrupt Judge who will hopefully pay a very big price for his illegal actions, someday!”
Trump’s post followed findings from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that the FBI investigated Turning Point USA, the conservative organization founded by Charlie Kirk, under a probe called “Arctic Frost.” Kirk was assassinated last week while speaking to students at Utah Valley University.
Grassley pointed out that whistleblowers revealed the FBI expanded the case beyond election-related matters to include Republican organizations, the Republican National Committee, and 92 Republican-linked groups and individuals. He remarked that Arctic Frost “was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”
Trump also reiterated concerns he has raised since 2023 regarding Judge Merchan’s role in his New York case. As Breitbart News previously reported, Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is president and partner of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that has worked for Democratic candidates including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Schiff, a client of Loren Merchan’s firm, used the guilty verdict against Trump in his business records case to raise campaign funds. Loren Merchan also was said to have an image of Trump behind bars as a social media profile picture, which was changed after being reported in 2024.
Judge Merchan himself previously donated small amounts to Democrat groups, including Biden for President, Progressive Turnout Project, and Stop Republicans, according to Federal Election Commission records. Legal experts noted such contributions may violate New York’s judicial ethics code, though some contended the small amounts were trivial. Others, including former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman, explained the donations and family connections created an appearance of conflict and should have prompted Merchan’s recusal.
Merchan has presided over multiple Trump-related cases, including the Trump Organization’s tax fraud trial and the “hush money” case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. He imposed a gag order on Trump, restricting comments about witnesses, staff, and family members connected to the proceedings. Trump has argued the gag order violates his First Amendment rights, particularly given his claims that Loren Merchan has financially benefited from his cases.
The Justice Department’s former special counsel, Jack Smith, who oversaw two investigations into Trump during the Biden administration, is also under review by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel for possible Hatch Act violations related to alleged political activity during his prosecutions. Smith’s attorneys have denied wrongdoing, calling the probe “imaginary and unfounded.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/09/17/trump-biden-admin-tried-to-force-charlie-and-many-other-people-and-movements-out-of-business/
