Donald Trump alleges juror misconduct in NY hush money case. Prosecutors call it 'hearsay'
President-elect Donald Trump has alleged there was juror misconduct in the New York criminal hush money trial that led to his conviction earlier this spring on dozens of felony counts, although the details aren't public and weren't made through a sworn statement under oath.
Judge Juan Merchan revealed in a court order on Monday that Trump made the allegation through a Dec. 3 letter, which was released a day later on Tuesday with redactions blocking out the specifics.
In his Monday order, Merchan wrote that he decided Trump's letter should be made public for the sake of transparency, and that it should also have redactions to protect juror privacy and safety.
"Allegations of juror misconduct should be thoroughly investigated," Merchan wrote, while noting that a judge isn't allowed to rule on such claims unless they are made under oath through a formal motion.
"It is significant to this analysis that (Trump's) letter consists entirely of unsworn allegations," Merchan added.
Trump was convicted May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Since his conviction, Trump has tried to get the guilty verdict tossed out based on his November presidential election victory, as well as on a Supreme Court ruling dealing with presidential immunity. In addition to addressing Trump's juror misconduct allegations in the letter, Merchan rejected Trump's immunity argument Monday in a separate ruling.
In the Dec. 3 letter, Trump's lawyers allege that "grave juror misconduct duning the trial violated President Trump’s rights." The details are redacted, apart from a reference to violating an instruction from the judge.
Prosecutors responded in a Dec. 5 letter that Trump was asking Merchan to credit "unsworn, unsupported, hearsay allegations" that an unnamed person behind the allegations "has refused to endorse and has at least partially disclaimed."
In alleging there was juror misconduct, Trump said he could file a motion asking for his convictions to be tossed out based on the behavior, but that he doesn't plan to.
Merchan said he will revisit his redactions if Trump files that formal motion, which would require Trump or someone else to make the allegations in a sworn statement under the penalty of perjury. Otherwise, Merchan said he "cannot allow the public filing of unsworn, and admittedly contested statements."
Lawyers for Trump didn't respond to a request for comment. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office declined to comment.
(This story has been updated with more information.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump alleges juror misconduct in New York criminal hush money trial