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What's New
President-elect Donald Trump has raised allegations of juror misconduct in his hush money case this week.
Trump's lawyers filed the misconduct claim in court documents released Tuesday as Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan considers a defense request to dismiss the case ahead of Trump's return to the White House.
In a letter to Merchan, Trump's lawyers Emil Bove and Todd Blanche said that they have uncovered "evidence of grave juror misconduct during the trial."
Why It Matters
The specifics of the allegations were redacted with three of the letter's seven pages completely blacked out. The letter, dated December 3, was added to the public court docket on Tuesday.
In a separate letter on Monday, Merchan explained that the redactions were ordered to protect the integrity of the case and ensure the safety of jurors, whose identities remain confidential.
Merchan noted that Blanche and Bove's letter "consists entirely of unsworn allegations," adding that releasing it publicly without redactions "would only serve to undermine the integrity of these proceedings while simultaneously placing the safety of the jurors at grave risk."
Additional letters related to the juror misconduct allegations were submitted by Trump's legal team and prosecutors on December 5 and December 9, but they have not yet been made public. A request for comment from The Associated Press was sent to the Manhattan district attorney's office, which prosecuted the hush money case.
What To Know
On May 30, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the case, which involved a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels says she and Trump previously had a sexual encounter, which he has denied. Trump's lawyers are appealing the verdict.
Trump has spent months battling to overturn his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump Immunity Claims
On Monday, Merchan denied Trump's bid to dismiss the case on presidential immunity grounds, ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court's July 1 decision granting former presidents broad protections from prosecution did not warrant overturning the case.
Trump's immunity claim is one of several attempts by his legal team to overturn his conviction and have the case dismissed.
What People Are Saying
In response to Trump's claims, Merchan said, "Allegations of juror misconduct should be thoroughly investigated."
"However, this Court is prohibited from deciding such claims on the basis of mere hearsay and conjecture," Merchan added.
What's Next
Following Trump's victory in last month's election, Judge Merchan indefinitely delayed the late November sentencing to allow both sides to propose next steps. Trump's legal team argued that any action short of immediate dismissal would disrupt the transfer of power and create unconstitutional "disruptions" to the presidency. Prosecutors, aiming to uphold the verdict, offered several alternative proposals.
Their suggestions included pausing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, ensuring that any future sentence would exclude jail time, or handling the case similarly to how courts proceed when a defendant dies.
Trump, a Republican, will take office on January 20, becoming the first former president convicted of a felony and the first elected to the presidency as a convicted criminal.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more