'Grave juror misconduct': Trump lawyers mount new bid to dismiss hush money case
Lawyers for Donald Trump now say they’ve uncovered evidence of “grave juror misconduct” in their continued push to shed the incoming president of his 34 felony convictions in New York state court, according to reports.
Although details of the juror misconduct references remain murky, attorneys for Trump said they wrote a letter to Judge Juan Merchan after being contacted by a juror who served on the case, NBC News reported.
"The extensive and pervasive misconduct at issue violated President Trump's rights under the federal Constitution and New York law," according to the Dec. 3 letter written by Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, which NBC News said was unsealed Tuesday and contained heavy redactions.
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The network added that while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office did not immediately comment on the letter, he told the court the misconduct allegations were “vague,” and that “the person who shared the claim had told Trump's team its summary of the allegations ‘contains inaccuracies.’”
Merchan in an order on Monday noted that the letter from Trump's team consisted “entirely of unsworn allegations,” and added that its unredacted release could place “the safety of the jurors at grave risk," according to NBC News.
“Allegations of juror misconduct should be thoroughly investigated,” the judge wrote in the order. “However, this Court is prohibited from deciding such claims on the basis of mere hearsay and conjecture.”
Merchan handed Trump a legal blow on Monday when he refused to clear him of the convictions based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
Trump was convicted on all 34 felonies in May related to his falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to Daniels.