The judge in Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial on Friday raised questions to prosecutors and the former president’s legal team about a comment made on the court’s Facebook page that appeared to preview the jury’s guilty decision.
The post was made one night ahead of the verdict’s announcement last Thursday, and stated, “My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted ? Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!! ❤️”
? BREAKING: Judge Merchan sends letter to parties in NY Trump case notifying them that this comment was left on their Facebook page before the verdict:
“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted & Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!.” pic.twitter.com/u5SBuNQs6y
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 7, 2024
In a letter to both parties Friday, Judge Juan Merchan wrote, “Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention.”
NBC News has more:
Merchan said that the comment, which was attributed to a user identified as Michael Anderson, was “now labeled as one week old,” and was posted in response to a routine notice from the court posted on May 29 about oral arguments unrelated to proceedings in Trump’s case.
It’s currently unclear whether the comment was legitimate.
Trump’s legal team says it’s investigating the matter.
The Hill reports if the user’s claims are accurate, the screw-up could force a mistrial:
“Jurors were instructed not to discuss the facts of the case with anyone – including the judge – once the trial was underway. Under New York law, a breach of that agreement could serve as grounds to set aside the jury’s verdict.”
Uh oh! It looks like there was juror misconduct in the #TrumpTrial!
We knew these jurors would not be able to avoid telling their friends and relatives that were going to get Trump
It’s time for a mistrial “with prejudice” and no retrial!
But will Merchan do the right thing? pic.twitter.com/HyfnlUVFlZ
— Phil Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) June 7, 2024
If this is legit, it should wipe out Trump’s conviction.
Judge Juan Merchan has alerted Trump’s attorneys to a Facebook post by a supposed cousin of a Trump juror who spilled the beans that he had inside info that Trump was about to be convicted
“My cousin is a juror and says… pic.twitter.com/Tjj6F4x6XV— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) June 7, 2024
