Lawyers for President-elect Donald Trump have accused a juror in his New York hush money trial of misconduct as they continue to try to overturn his historic conviction in the case. But it is unclear what the nature of their claim is, and Manhattan prosecutors have said the letter does not contain any sworn allegations.
In a Dec. 3 letter released Tuesday, Trump’s attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove claim there was “evidence of serious juror misconduct during the trial” that “serves as yet another reason that the verdicts in this case cannot and should not be upheld .”
The letter, as released to the public, is heavily redacted and does not reveal any details about the alleged misconduct or the identity of the juror. Blanche and Bove told NBC News that they wrote the letter after a juror in the case contacted them. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
“This behavior is completely unacceptable and demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that the statements in this case are as unreliable as District Attorney Bragg’s promise to protect Manhattan residents from violent crimes,” they wrote.
Manhattan prosecutors responded on December 5 that the letter “does not contain any sworn factual allegations.” They pointed out that Blanche and Bove are resisting a hearing on the charges and are instead asking the court to “accept their untested, unsworn allegations as true.”
On Monday, Judge Juan Merchan responded that he cannot rule either way because the court is “prohibited from deciding such claims based on mere hearsay and conjecture.” However, he wrote that the court could consider Trump’s lawyers’ claim if they file a motion to dismiss the verdict on the grounds of juror misconduct.
“Such a motion,” he wrote, “must contain sworn allegations.”
Trump’s lawyers have tried several tactics to get his criminal case dismissed in New York. So far all their attempts have failed; On Monday, Merchan rejected Trump’s motion to overturn his conviction on the grounds of presidential immunity, prompting the president-elect to rage at the judge over Truth Social.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
