Merchan claimed in a letter to attorneys on both sides that a social media post claimed to come from the cousin of a juror, and said he was told Trump would be convicted.
New York judge Juan Merchan on Friday questioned attorneys in the case about a social media post that allegedly came from a family member of one of the jurors, which predicted former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict.
Trump was convicted on all 34 counts in his hush money trial last week, after the jury unanimously agreed that he had falsified business records to hide a payment to a former porn star. The case has been under scrutiny however, over the reputation of the star witness and confusing jury instructions given by Merchan.
Merchan claimed in a letter to attorneys on both sides that a social media post claimed to come from the cousin of a juror, and said he was told Trump would be convicted. The post was a comment on the court’s routine notice, which was not related to Trump. The comment was a week old, and the notice was posted May 29.
“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,” Merchan wrote in the letter.
“My cousin is a juror and said Trump is getting convicted,” the post stated, according to the letter. “Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!”
The comment, which was posted by a “Michael Anderson,” has since been deleted and Trump officials said they are investigating the incident, according to NBC News.
Trump has vowed to appeal the verdict, and is expected to be sentenced on July 11.
By Misty Severi
