Trump Hush Money Judge Says Juror’s Supposed ‘Cousin’ Predicted A Conviction On Facebook—But It’s Unclear If It’s True

 

Trump was convicted on May 30.

The judge in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial told lawyers Friday a person claiming to be a juror’s cousin wrote on social media he’d heard the former president will be found guilty before Trump’s historic conviction—though there’s no proof the commenter was actually related to the juror or had any inside knowledge.

KEY FACTS

Judge Juan Merchan said the comment was left on a Facebook post by the New York court system on May 29—one day before Trump’s conviction—and stated, “My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted.”

If the post were accurate—which is unclear—it would be a violation of rules barring jurors from sharing information about their role or the trial with people outside the court until the trial is over.

Merchan did not say whether he believed the comment was legitimate, if court staff had looked into the matter or whether he’ll take further action.

The comment was made on a May 21 post from the system’s Facebook page, Merchan said in his letter, though the post referenced by Merchan no longer showed a comment from Anderson as of Friday evening.

A user with the same name as the person referenced by Merchan posted a similar message on a separate post not cited by Merchan, calling out “MAGA crazies” and saying he was told by his cousin, a juror, that Trump would be convicted.

The user’s Facebook profile describes himself as a “professional s*** poster.”

TANGENT

Conservative figures have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to argue that if the Facebook comment is in fact from a juror’s cousin, Trump’s conviction should be overturned.

KEY BACKGROUND

Last week, Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first president ever to be convicted on criminal charges. The charges could draw thousands in fines and prison time, though many experts think prison is unlikely because he’s a first-time offender. Jury selection for Trump’s trial lasted days, involving extensive questioning by lawyers for both sides and what Merchan called “the most exhaustive questionnaire” ever used by the court. The questionnaire included questions about jurors’ political activity, social media followings, their views on police and more. The jurors weren’t sequestered, so they were allowed to go home when court wasn’t in session, but Merchan repeatedly told them not to discuss the case with anybody, and their identities were never publicly revealed.

CHIEF CRITIC

Trump has repeatedly argued he cannot receive a fair trial in Manhattan given the area’s left-leaning political makeup, though his efforts to move the trial to a more favorable jurisdiction—like Staten Island—weren’t successful. Trump has also feuded with Merchan, and recently asked Merchan to remove a gag order preventing him from criticizing the jurors or court personnel’s family members, arguing its justifications are no longer valid.