The judge presiding over former President Trump’s New York criminal trial is facing scrutiny for risking the credibility of his own jury after he sent a letter to the defense team about a comment posted to the court’s public Facebook page. It implied one of the jurors discussed the guilty verdict with family prior to the trial’s conclusion.
The comment was made by a user who described himself as a “professional s— poster,” leading some to wonder why Merchan alerted Trump’s counsel without investigating the matter more thoroughly.
In a letter Friday, Judge Juan Merchan told Trump defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors, “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!!!!’” A comment by the same user on a different post said, “Thank you for all your hard [sic] against the MAGA crazies! My cousin is a juror on Trumps criminal case and they’re going to convict him tomorrow according to her.”
NY V. TRUMP: JUDGE REVEALS FACEBOOK POST IMPLYING JUROR DISCUSSED GUILTY VERDICT BEFORE TRIAL CONCLUDED
When someone on Facedbook called out the illegality of jurors discussing a case before a verdict is reached, the user going by “Michael Anderson” posted that he and his cousin “Now are married.”
Fox News has not verified the claims made in the comment or the identity of the user who published the post. But the claim made in the comment has a “relatively small” chance of being genuine, according to legal expert and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley.
In a letter Friday, Judge Juan Merchan highlighted a comment posted to the court’s public Facebook page that implied one of the jurors discussed Trump’s guilty verdict with family prior to the trial’s conclusion. (AP)
“As I said when this story first broke, I…
