A stray comment was posted to Facebook only a day before a jury convicted Donald Trump in a New York court last week in which the poster said his cousin was a juror on the Trump case and that a conviction was imminent. He thanked the court for their service.
Judge Juan Merchan brought the comments to the attention of the counsel for Trump and the prosecution on Friday, sending the letter to both Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche and the Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass.
👀 Justice MERCHAN has notified the parties in Trump's case that a stray comment was posted on the NY court system's Facebook page on May 29, a day before Trump's conviction. pic.twitter.com/EszX3HClLN
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 7, 2024
“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted. Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!!”
“The comment,” Merchan continued in the letter, “now labeled as one week old, responded to a routine UCS notice, posted on May 29, 2024, regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding. The posting, entitled ‘The Appellate Division will hear oral arguments this morning at 10,’ and the comment are both viewable at https://www.facebook.com/NewYorkCourts/.”
Jurors in the case deliberated for two days before reaching a verdict in DA Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump over 34 felony counts of the falsification of business records. The jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts. There had been concern that a jury from New York City could be substantially biased.
Lawyers for Trump had argued that there were grounds for a mistrial on multiple occassions throughout the trial but that had been denied by the judge. Jurors in the case were not sequestered but were instructed to not
