Judge in Trump criminal case notifies parties of online comment claiming juror knowledge

A new notice put out by New York Judge Juan Merchan notified both the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and former President Donald Trump's legal team about a post on the Facebook page from the New York court system, which purported to be from the cousin of a juror with knowledge of the verdict.

The comment in question came from a user identified as "Michael Anderson" around the same time Trump was convicted on 34 felony charges.

"My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted; Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!" said the comment, which, according to Merchan, "responded to a routine UCS notice, posted on May 29, 2024, regarding oral arguments in the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division unrelated to this proceeding."

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The UCS notice in question was posted one day before the verdict was handed down.

However, Merchan's order does not specify whether the "Michael Anderson" post itself was before or after the verdict, only that it was "labeled as one week old."

It is also not clear whether this person is really a cousin of one of the jurors; however, if this is actual advance knowledge of the jury verdict, it could be a potent argument for Trump's attorneys to argue for the verdict to be tossed on appeal.