Trump hush money trial judge Juan Merchan warns parties of incriminating Facebook comment the day before the verdict
The judge inside Donald Trump‘s hush money lawsuit has sent a letter to the ex-president’s lawyers and prosecutors warning of an incriminating social media post that appeared before the jury reached a verdict in the landmark case.
The twelve New York jurors found Trump guilty on 34 counts for falsifying company information on May 30. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11. He is the first former president to be found guilty on criminal charges.
But in a letter Friday to Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass and other attorneys in the trial, Judge Juan Merchan brought to their attention a comment posted on the Unified Court System’s public opinion. Facebook page.
It reads: ‘My cousin is a juror and says Trump will be convicted [emoji] Thank you folks for all your work!!!!’
Merchan wrote in his letter of June 7 that the comment was posted on May 29, the day before the jury found Trump guilty of a user ‘Michael Anderson’.
It was posted in response to oral arguments in the Fourth Division of the Appellate Division that were unrelated to the trial.
Donald Trump leaves court after a jury found him guilty of all 34 charges of falsifying company records
The incriminating post raises questions about whether any of the jurors actually discussed the case with others when they were not allowed to.
If that were the case, it could be grounds for a mistrial.
It is not clear that the Facebook user who made the post was in fact related to any juror or had any prior knowledge of the verdict. It could also have been a random Facebook user who wanted to stir up controversy or confusion.
The jury of seven men and five women at Manhattan Criminal Court deliberated for nearly 10 hours before convicting the former president of 34 counts of falsifying company records.
Trump was found guilty of falsifying company records to cover up the payment to porn star Stormy Daniels so she would keep quiet about a previous sexual encounter before the 2016 election.
It was the first time that a former American president had faced a criminal trial, and it came as Trump was running for a second term as president.
Judge Juan Merchan sent a letter to Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors on June 7, alerting them to a Facebook post from a user who claimed to have had prior knowledge of the hush money ruling
A screenshot of the message Judge Merchan warned Trump’s lawyers and prosecutors about
A sketch of the jurors listening to testimony in the hush money trial. Trump was found guilty of falsifying company records in an attempt to cover up a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet before the 2016 election
The ex-president has spoken out against the verdict and his lawyers have already said they would appeal.
The Trump campaign said it was “investigating.”
