Social media post claims Trump juror discussed guilty verdict before it was delivered
FILE - Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
The judge presiding over former President Trump’s New York criminal trial notified his defense team on Friday of a comment on the court's public Facebook page that implies one of the jurors discussed the guilty verdict ahead of time.
Fox News obtained the letter Judge Juan Merchan shared with Trump defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors.
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"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. In the comment, the user, ‘Michael Anderson,’ states:
"’My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted! Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!’"
PDF: SEE THE JUDGE'S FULL LETTER
The comment was posted on May 29 "regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding." It has since been deleted.
The profile for "Michael Anderson" has little publicly available information, but the user identifies himself as a "Transabled & professional sh-- poster." The credibility of the post is unclear, but court officials said they had an obligation to make both sides aware. "As appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content," a spokesperson for the court told The Washington Post.
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A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital they are "investigating the matter."
Al Baker, state OCA spokesperson, said Friday that "as appropriate, the Court informed the parties once it learned of this online content."
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Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail Thursday with a trip to Arizona, his first appearance in a battleground state since he was convicted in a hush money scandal, repeating his critiques of the case against him as politically motivated and calling for his conviction to be overturned on appeal.
The post came 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 six-week-long trial stemmed from charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.