President-elect Trump has alleged juror misconduct in the New York hush money trial that led to his conviction this spring on dozens of felony counts The details aren't public and weren't made through a sworn statement under oath. Judge Juan Merchan said in a court order hat Trump made the allegation in a Dec. 3 letter. Merchan wrote that he decided Trump's letter should be made public for the sake of transparency, and that it should also have redactions to protect juror privacy and safety. "Allegations of juror misconduct should be thoroughly investigated," Merchan wrote, adding that, "It is significant to this analysis that (Trump's) letter consists entirely of unsworn allegations," USA Today reports Trump was convicted May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Since his conviction, Trump has tried to get the verdict reversed based on his presidential election victory as well as on a Supreme Court ruling dealing with presidential immunity. Merchan rejected Trump's immunity argument in a separate ruling. In the Dec. 3 letter Trump's lawyers allege that "grave juror misconduct during the trial violated President Trump’s rights." The details are redacted, apart from a reference to violating an instruction from the judge. Prosecutors responded that Trump was asking Merchan to credit "unsworn, unsupported, hearsay allegations" that an unnamed person behind the allegations "has refused to endorse and has at least partially disclaimed." Merchan said he will revisit his redactions if Trump files a formal motion, which would require Trump or someone else to make the allegations in a sworn statement under the penalty of perjury. Otherwise, Merchan said he "cannot allow the public filing of unsworn, and admittedly contested statements."
Comentarios