Former U.S. President Donald Trump, with attorney Todd Blanche, speaks to reporters as jurors are released to begin deliberations for his criminal trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, NY on Wednesday, May 29, 2024.
Jabin Botsford | Reuters
Attorneys for Donald Trump told a New York judge that the president-elect’s criminal hush money trial was tainted by “grave juror misconduct” and that his guilty verdicts should be thrown out as a result.
“The jury in this case was not anywhere near fair and impartial,” attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove told Judge Juan Merchan in a letter dated Dec. 3 and made public Tuesday.
Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office responded at the time that the allegations are “seemingly inaccurate,” and noted that Trump’s lawyers oppose holding a hearing where the claims could be “fully examined.”
The seven-page letter from Blanche and Bove is heavily redacted. The visible portions of the letter offer few details or evidence to support the misconduct claims.
The correspondence was revealed one day after Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Merchan rejected Trump’s bid to have his hush money conviction dismissed on the grounds of presidential immunity.
The judge did not rule on other arguments Trump’s team has put forward to try to get the case thrown out. Even if Merchan rejects the remaining challenges, it is unclear when Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, might be sentenced.
In his ruling Monday evening, Merchan addressed Blanche’s juror misconduct claims, saying that they “should be thoroughly investigated” — but only as part of a sworn affidavit.
“This Court is prohibited from deciding such claims on the basis of mere hearsay and conjecture,” Merchan wrote.
“Unless and until a properly filed claim … is submitted, this Court cannot allow the public filing of unsworn, and admittedly contested statements,” the judge wrote.
“To do so would threaten the safety of the jurors and violate the agreed upon Order Regulating Disclosure of Juror Information.”
Neither Blanche nor the DA’s office immediately responded to CNBC’s request for additional comment.
A jury in late May found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a scheme ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep porn star Stormy Daniels from discussing an alleged one-night stand with Trump years earlier. Trump, who has denied having sex with Daniels, has claimed he is the victim of a political prosecution and a biased judge.
Merchan in November indefinitely postponed Trump’s sentencing date as his attorneys sought time to argue that the case should be thrown out in light of his electoral victory.
Trump last month tapped Blanche and Bove to serve in top roles in the U.S. Department of Justice in the next administration.
