Facebook post by supposed Trump juror’s relative – what might happen
Here’s a potential bombshell in the Trump hush money trial:
The judge presiding over former President Trump’s New York criminal trial notified his defense team on Friday of a comment on the court’s public Facebook page that implies one of the jurors discussed the guilty verdict ahead of time.
Fox News obtained the letter Judge Juan Merchan shared with Trump defense attorneys and Manhattan prosecutors.
“‘Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, ‘Michael Anderson,’ states:
“’My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted! Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!’”
The profile for “Michael Anderson” has little publicly available information, but the user identifies himself as a “Transabled & professional sh– poster.”
A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital they are “investigating the matter.”
There are many things that can be said about this, but the first that comes to mind for me is that “Michael Anderson” didn’t speak to any jurors and is just – as he or she indicates – “shit posting.” A troublemaking troll, in other words. That is actually my leading theory at this point.
The next thing that comes to mind is the outrageous fact that this jury wasn’t sequestered. So the door was opened for such a discussion to have occurred in an incredibly important case, and/or for the jurors to have read or heard the news and/or social media and seen what was being said about the trial. It could have easily been prevented, but it wasn’t.
The next thing that occurs to me is that, if in fact “Michael Anderson” is actually a juror’s cousin (which I tend to doubt), they’ll probably find a way around it. They’ll interview him or her and get the answer that it was just a joke and that no such discussion ever occurred. They’ll interview the juror, who will say the same thing. They’ll interview other jurors and they’ll agree that the verdict wasn’t a foregone conclusion and everyone was as objective as objective could be.
But the next thing that occurs to me is that the Democrats are probably a mite perturbed that the verdict doesn’t seem to have damaged Trump as much as they’d hoped and expected. They may even want to take the opportunity to back away from it and pretend the whole thing never happened. They might see doing so as a way to establish their fairness bona fides: “See, even though Trump is obviously guilty, we want to protect the process and the rule of law by starting over.” They might even wait till after the election, to take away Trump’s claim to martyrdom. I think this approach is unlikely but possible.
As I indicated, I think this whole matter will end up being inconsequential.
The Left is already saying it’s a bogus plant. This wouldn’t surprise me, it also wouldn’t surprise me if the Left planted this post.
I have a hunch that many Democrats are not aware that the dislike they have long exhibited for Republicans and the Republican standard bearer de jour — it just got a bit 🙂 stronger with Trump– is reciprocated , and perhaps more than reciprocated, from the Republican side.
Trump’s “Trial”?
That was no trial.
It was a totally Democratic Party show trial. Merchan is no judge. He is a Democratic operative. The jurors were all from NYC, which is 90% Democrats. Trying the GOP presidential nominee? Utter BS.
Lavrentri Beria, Stalin’s right hand man, would have smiled; “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.” Bragg is an understudy of that notion.
True of not, it seems Judge, and loosely term that, Marchan buys this story and informs the lawyers to get out in front of the story to come up with some it’s a nothing burger.
Here’s my conspiracy theory: Merchan wants a reason to back this whole thing up before he suffers the professional embarrassment of being overturned 9-0, with some likely scorching comments on his unethical and unprofessional behavior. If he can find a reason to declare a mistrial, he’ll take it. Because in the eyes of his peers (the Dems and the media), they’ve already won. Oh, a jail term would be so sweet, but n their eyes, they got the Bad Orange Man. He’s a “convicted felon” regardless of what comes of this, and to them he’ll always be one.
Mistrial and retrial and he keeps Trump tied up another six weeks.
It doesn’t stand to reason that an anonymous social media comment can cause a mistrial. There wouldn’t be anyone convicted of anything if it were that easy to do.
If someone could link it to a juror who could then be proved to have leaked it, I could maybe see it happening.
I was thinking the same as Chasing Eagles. The prosecution is the punishment.
I was thinking the same as Chasing Eagles. The prosecution is the punishment.
As the saying goes, “You might beat the rap, but you won’t beat the ride.”
“As I indicated, I think this whole matter will end up being inconsequential.” – Neo
Such a kill joy. 🙂 Give us a moment to savor the idea that Trump might catch a break. Even if it’s unlikely. This was the Orange Man’s reprieved from Wily Coyote’s latest Acme Road Runner trap.
One thing that occurred to me is that the investigation might push the sentencing hearing back. If the GOP convention is over before the sentencing, the optics of a severe sentence might be even more anger inducing amongst the deplorables. Well, we can hope.
I thought the same thing as Chasing Eagles. Yet another avenue to keep Trump entangled. And a mistrial/retrial keeps him in NYFC.
Chases Eagles has a great theory, but I think it’s too late for it. If it had been the result of jury deliberation I could see it happening, but it’s too late now.( Doesn’t mean it won’t be tried it’s just too late.)
Isn’t Merchan’s trial gag still in effect?
Not JUST “a convicted felon”! (Repost…)
“Hillary Clinton Slammed For Using D-Day To Call Trump Hitler”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/hillary-clinton-slammed-using-d-day-call-trump-hitler
While it would make sense in a lot of ways, as well as serve as a pretense to unleash the Democrat shock troops in another election year summer of rioting across the cities, I don’t think they can ever ease up in the slightest and hand him anything that could marginally be seen as a win. Like the jury supposedly asking to review things before the verdict, this is simply another means of verifying for the history books that making sure that the trial was completely unbiased was at the forefront.
He will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, and nothing can stop it.
Soberge,
You’re right, they can’t stop ever. It’s almost religious to some of them, to die in pursuit of such a cause is righteous to them, maybe get a song written about them (” I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night”), it doesn’t mean they’re smart( cunning maybe) and they won’t make mistakes, they will.
Telemachus on June 8, 2024 at 8:17 pm
Very good possibility that is the reason
But either way as Neo thinks this doesn’t do anything
Turley states the obvious (to anyone paying attention), and states it well:
“Can democracy survive the ‘defenders of democracy’? “—
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4711193-can-democracy-survive-the-defenders-of-democracy/
In a nutshell:
– The “defenders of democracy”, who have been telling lies 24/7, are raising dire warnings about HE whom they CLAIM presents a clear and present danger to the country.
– Those “defenders of democracy”, who have forged destructive policies in EVERY area, are raising dire warnings about HE whom they CLAIM will destroy Democracy.
– Those “defenders of democracy”, who’ve been trampling the Constitution non-stop, are raising dire warnings about HE whom they CLAIM will trample the Constitution.
…With the Mainstream Media repeating this rubbish 24/7.
My thinking has been along the lines of Neo’s. This is a nothingburger but will eventually be spun to LIVs as an exhonoration of the corrupt way the trial was run and the rather obvious bias of the jury pool.
Neo is probably correct but the war gamer in me says keep this out of the hands of a superior court as long as possible.
Well HE be FJB and his alphabet agencies.
“Here’s my conspiracy theory: Merchan wants a reason to back this whole thing up before he suffers the professional embarrassment of being overturned 9-0, with some likely scorching comments on his unethical and unprofessional behavior. If he can find a reason to declare a mistrial, he’ll take it. Because in the eyes of his peers (the Dems and the media), they’ve already won. Oh, a jail term would be so sweet, but n their eyes, they got the Bad Orange Man. He’s a “convicted felon” regardless of what comes of this, and to them he’ll always be one.”
Not really. They need sentencing first to grand him a convicted felon, and a mistrial would screw up the timing for that. They really need the sentencing hearing before the Republican convention, where Trump is formally nominated. If sentenced after that, a partisan Dem DA, in the court room of a partisan Dem judge, in a very highly Dem city convicted the Republican candidate, leading in the polls (on bogus charges, etc).
That’s why I think it more likely that the guy is a Republican.
@Barry:
OMG! Hillary is encouraging people to vote in November! The FIEND!!! :/.
Seriously, dude, she doesn’t mention either Trump or Hitler. “Princess and the Pea” much?
hillary has enabled the destruction of at least two countries, haiti and nigeria, the latter came from associates of mark rich, kurwin, and chagoury, who looted the country to a fare the well, of course we know ericson and the whole cell monopoly
and the goldmines possessed by her brother
Re Russian ties, I won’t bore you with prokhorov and renaissance bank remuneration to her significant other, or states funding of skulkovo village, a lead information technology enterprise employed by SORm
you know little about chagoury, because judge chutkin, there’s that name again, was his guardian angel, in at least one proceeding, however when a Nebraska rep was accused of taking monies from him, all of a sudden he turned out to be crooked, shazam
Hmmm…
I said awhile back from a pure game theory perspective, the smartest thing for the Democrats would have been to fast track an impeachment on Biden to get him out of office and set up their replacement. Not only would it have solved that anchor, but it would have given the Media a talking point about how the Dems are willing to jettison their criminal while look at the Repubs embracing theirs.
Now that that play is off the table, it would actually be kind of brilliant for Biden to pardon Trump. It would give him a great zinger for the upcoming debates (“hey, can I get a thank you for keeping you out of jail?”) and go a long way to cooling down tensions. The only problem with that, is the Media have done such a good job painting Trump as ultra-mega-Hitler, Biden pardoning him would force the true believers to ask “WTF?” Could they keep believing the Media? Could they vote for the man who pardoned ultra-mega-hitler?
I have no sympathy but bemusement at how much the Left is thwarting their own best plays by their relentless lying. By now this facebook play is the best they can do, giving them a chance to mulligan the trial and try to head off “it’s a political show trial” claims with “see? it was fair! the judge reversed it!”
Telemachus – Merchan will be taken care of for the rest of his career, whether he stays on the bench, ends up at a big law firm, or moves to a Democrat-affiliated organization. Besides, it’s a little late now for an attack of conscience.
One complication to Chases Eagle’s POV – You can only Kafka a defendant once. I have no illusions that Trump would be acquitted in a re-trial. He would almost certainly be convicted again. But, now that Trump knows the nature of the prosecution’s theory, the politics of a second conviction are going to be even worse for Dems.
In short, I have no idea why Merchan has bought into this. My leading theory is similar to neo’s. I suspect that the post is a nothing burger. I also think that Merchan is jumping on it for two reasons: (i) to feed the fever among Trumpers in hopes that they do something stupid that can be politically exploited; and (ii) to maintain the illusion for undecided voters That is, to show how much “diligence” they put into making sure the verdict was “fair.”
Because hes a corrupt judge in league with criminals stop making anything high minded how many crimes could have been accounted in the last seven weeks many many
The fabulous new game that’s taking the nation by storm:
Let’s give the Democrats the benefit of the doubt!(?)
actually thats more like nigel tufnel’s increasingly more selective audiences,
oh really
https://twitter.com/JeffClarkUS/status/1799972682936496311
deniro is reduced to a button man, in his own outfit
Nate Winchester:
Biden can’t pardon Trump in the Bragg trial because it’s not a federal case. A president can only give pardons in federal cases. It’s Governor Hochul who can pardon Trump. Biden could pressure her to do that, but she’s the one who could do it.