Judge presiding over the former judgeship President Trump’s A New York criminal trial judge is facing scrutiny for risking the credibility of his own jury after he sent a letter to the defense team about a comment posted on the court’s public Facebook page that said one of the jurors had discussed the guilty verdict with family before the trial concluded.
The comment was made by a user who described himself as a “professional sleazy poster,” leading some to wonder why Merchan alerted Trump’s attorney without first investigating the matter thoroughly.
In a letter Friday, Judge Juan Marchan wrote to Trump’s defense attorneys and manhattan prosecutor“Today, the Court became aware of a comment posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and I want to bring it to your attention now.
“In the comments, the user, ‘Michael Anderson’ said: ‘My cousin is on the jury and says Trump will be convicted! Thanks for all your hard work!!!!'” A comment from the same user on another post said, “Thank you for all your hard work against the MAGA lunatics! My cousin is on the jury in Trump’s criminal trial and according to him they are going to convict him tomorrow.”
NY vs. Trump: Judge reveals Facebook post that says jury discussed guilty verdict before trial ended
When someone on Facebook questioned the illegality of jurors discussing the case before the verdict was reached, a user known as “Michael Anderson” posted that he and his cousin “are now married.”
Fox News has not confirmed the claims made in the comment or the identity of the user who published the post. But according to legal expert and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, the claim made in the comment is “relatively low” likely to be true.
In a letter Friday, Judge Juan Merchan highlighted a comment posted on the court’s public Facebook page indicating one of the jurors had discussed Trump’s guilty verdict with his family before the trial concluded. (AP)
“As I said when this story first broke, I am skeptical. Accordingly, I was surprised by the court’s response to even the most basic scrutiny on postings,” Turley, a constitutional law attorney, told Fox News Digital. “All of our sites, from Facebook to blogs, are subject to a constant flood of trolls, bots and certifiably insane posters.
He said, “The likelihood of such a posting being actual information provided by a juror today is relatively low. The key to the Dead Sea Scrolls would be more likely to be found in graffiti left on the courthouse. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be investigated, but the appearance of such a posting is not reason to summon everyone from the court to investigate.”
The jurors were given strict orders from the judge not to do so Discuss the matter There was no conversation with anyone during the trial.
According to Merchan’s letter, the comment came “in response to a routine UCS notice posted on May 29, 2024, regarding oral argument in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding.”
Little information is publicly available about “Michael Anderson’s” Facebook profile, but the user identifies himself as a “transabled and professional s— poster.”
A Trump campaign The official told Fox News Digital on Friday evening that the campaign was “looking into the matter.”
Other legal experts also stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of the jury process.
“These are the things that lead to mistrials,” William Trackman, an attorney with the Mountain States Legal Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “And it doesn’t have to be about politics. It can be about justice.”
Trackman said if the allegations against the juror are true, it would “call the entire verdict into question.”
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“Anytime a juror talks about what they’re going to do — especially in the future, like, ‘We’re going to do this tomorrow’ — that’s a really serious issue for a jury,” he said. “If that’s true, it calls the entire verdict into question.”
Former federal prosecutor Nema Rahmani told Fox News Digital on Friday that while jury deliberations are “sacred,” they could lead to an incorrect outcome if “outside influences are brought in.”
“Jury deliberation is sacrosanct, and the defense generally cannot use jurors’ deliberation as grounds for a new trial or appeal, even if the jurors misunderstood the facts or the law. One exception, however, is if outside influences are brought into the case. jury deliberation room,” He said.
Rahmani said that in the event of a mistrial, Trump’s defense team would have to “prove both improper outside influence and bias.”
“However, the burden of a new trial is very high,” he said. “The defense would have to show both improper outside influence and bias. Bias means the outcome could have been different.
” a stray comment On social media That’s not enough to warrant a new trial.”
The comment was posted a day before Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
William Jacobson, a clinical professor at Cornell Law School and founder of the Equal Protection Project, told Fox News Digital that “it’s important to take this seriously, but not get ahead of the facts.”
“Given how important this was to a potential presidential election, I think if that juror had done exactly what was alleged, it’s very likely the judge would have had no choice but to overturn the verdict,” he said.
State OCA spokesman Al Baker said Friday that “the court appropriately notified the parties upon becoming aware of this online material.”
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The comment was posted a day before Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The charges were dismissed following a six-week trial. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg,
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
