Legal experts are doubtful a letter sent to defense and prosecution attorneys in Donald Trump's now-concluded New York criminal trial will ultimately turn his guilty verdict into a "mistrial." Friday afternoon Judge Juan Merchan notified both parties of a comment posted to the New York Unified Court System's Facebook page apparently one day before the jury handed the ex-president a guilty verdict. "My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted," it begins, adding emojis here and at the end.
"Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!" Professor of law and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance posted a screenshot of the Facebook post. Judge Merchan's letter makes no claims about the validity of the Facebook poster's claim that they are related to a juror, merely that the post was made. That poster allegedly has in their Facebook bio, "a professional sh*tposter.
" READ MORE: ‘Bizarrely Embarrassing and Infantile’: Right Wing Outlet Slammed for Selling ‘Alito Flags’ Meanwhile, Vance says Judge Merchan "is smart to advise the parties & hold a hearing on the record to resolve this. If it's someone posting with no basis for it as it appears, the record will be clear (his bio says 'professional s***poster') & if there's something to it, good to get it out & do justice." "Why does a clear record matter?" she continues .
"Because Trump will raise this on appeal to argue for reversal. Now, both sides have notice of this issue & there's an opportunity to get all of the detai.