In a latest development, Donald Trump's legal team is reportedly grappling with a tough decision regarding their representation of the former president in his Stormy Daniels criminal case. The case revolves around allegations that Trump falsified business records to facilitate hush money payments to Daniels, a former pornographic actress, in an effort to cover up an alleged affair in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies all charges and maintains his innocence.

This decision comes at a critical juncture as Trump recently emerged as the presumptive Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election. However, his potential bid for a second term is clouded by multiple ongoing legal battles, including four upcoming criminal cases. Trump has consistently proclaimed his innocence and claims that the charges against him are politically motivated.

A leading legal expert, Andrew Weissmann, who previously served as general counsel to the FBI for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, highlighted the complexity of the situation. Weissmann drew attention to Trump's attacks on Loren Merchan, the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan presiding over the Stormy Daniels case, on social media platform Truth Social.

Weissmann suggested that Trump's legal team faces a difficult decision in continuing to represent him, considering his conduct and the charges he faces, which include alleged encouragement of violence during the events of January 6, 2021. On that day, Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Congress in an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

Trump's campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, dismissed Weissmann's concerns, calling him an "idiot" suffering from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

Trump himself has demanded that Judge Merchan be removed from the case, citing his daughter Loren's alleged biases and connections to political figures such as Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Adam Schiff. These claims have not been independently verified by Newsweek, who reached out to Loren Merchan for comment.

In response to Trump's accusations, a spokesperson for the New York state court system clarified that a doctored image depicting Trump behind bars, which he attributed to Loren Merchan, was actually the result of account manipulation and not her doing.

On Tuesday, Judge Merchan imposed a gag order on Trump, prohibiting him from making any public comments about prosecutors, witnesses, jurors, or their families in relation to the Stormy Daniels case.

As the legal battles surrounding Trump continue to unfold, his legal team will have to make a critical decision regarding their ongoing representation in the Stormy Daniels case.