The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York has alerted the prosecution and defence to an online post by someone claiming to have advance knowledge of the jury’s verdict.
Trump, 77, became the first former US president to be convicted of a crime last week when a jury of 12 New Yorkers found him guilty on all 34 counts he faced of falsifying business records.
The court has since become “aware” of a comment left on its Facebook page by someone purporting to be a relative of a juror, Justice Juan Merchan said in a letter on Friday.
“My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted,” said the post, by an account under the name Michael Anderson. “Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!”
The comment was showing as a week old, the court said, although it is unclear exactly when it was posted.
While it has since been deleted, online sleuths have linked photos purporting to show the original comment to the account of a self-described “professional s–t poster”.
The person behind the account is an active member of a Facebook group for Trump supporters who routinely posts anti-Biden and pro-Trump memes, according to the Washington Post.
Justice Merchan did not state whether the claim made in the post had been investigated or whether officials suspect any wrongdoing.
If the claim is deemed to be credible, Mr Trump’s team could demand an investigation or perhaps a new trial, potentially delaying his sentencing on July 11.
The Republican 2024 candidate could demand the judge question each of the jurors in turn to establish whether they were swayed by outside influence, or violated his order prohibiting any discussion of their deliberations outside the jury room.