President-elect Donald Trump is alleging there was juror misconduct in the New York criminal hush money trial that led to his conviction earlier this spring on dozens of felony counts, according to a letter Judge Juan Merchan sent Trump’s legal team and the prosecution on Monday.
Merchan didn’t make clear what the allegations involve. But the judge wrote that he has decided that a Dec. 3 letter from Trump containing the allegations 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, while noting that a judge isn’t allowed to rule on such claims unless they are made under oath through a formal motion.
“It is significant to this analysis that (Trump’s) letter consists entirely of unsworn allegations,” Merchan added.
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives to court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City.
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 guilty verdict tossed out based on his November presidential election victory, as well as on a Supreme Court ruling dealing with presidential immunity. In addition to addressing Trump’s juror misconduct allegations in the letter, Merchan rejected Trump’s immunity argument Monday in a separate ruling.
It’s not clear how much of the alleged misconduct will be revealed when the redacted letter from Trump, along with the prosecution’s response, becomes public. Merchan told Trump’s legal team and prosecutors to review his redactions and, if they appear accurate, to then post their letters on a docket that is accessible to the public.
In alleging there was juror misconduct, Trump said he could file a motion asking for his convictions to be tossed out based on the behavior, but that he doesn’t plan to, according to Merchan’s letter.
Merchan said he will revisit his redactions if Trump files that 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.”
Lawyers for Trump didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office declined to comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump alleges juror misconduct in New York criminal hush money trial
