Trump lawyers ask for hush-money case conviction to be thrown out over jury’s ‘pervasive misconduct’

Donald Trump’s lawyers are claiming that there was “grave juror misconduct” during his New York criminal hush-money trial earlier this year and that his conviction should be thrown out.

In a letter addressed to Manhattan judge Juan M Merchan, dated 3 December but made public this week, Trump’s attorneys claimed they had evidence of “grave juror misconduct” that occurred during the trial, which they said “illustrates the manifest unfairness of these proceedings” and serves as a “reason that the verdicts in this case cannot and should not stand”.

“The extensive and pervasive misconduct at issue violated President Trump’s rights under the federal Constitution and New York law,” Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote. “The jury in this case was not anywhere near fair and impartial.”

In May, a jury convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsifying business records tied to a $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016 to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter. Trump denies that the encounter ever took place.

Trump pleaded not guilty and has claimed that the case was an attempt to damage his 2024 campaign.

Since then, Trump’s lawyers have made several attempts to dismiss the case and overturn his conviction.

On Tuesday, the new allegations concerning juror misconduct were made public in a letter from Donald Trump’s lawyers, in which they urged Merchan to consider the allegations as he continues to deliberate on Trump’s motions to dismiss the case.

The details of the allegations are not known, as the letter has been heavily redacted, as have the contents of the reply letters from the prosecutors.

In an order issued on Monday, Merchan stated that the letters were redacted because they contained “unsworn and contested statements” that could jeopardize the safety of the jurors if the full details were made public.

Trump’s attorneys told NBC News that they wrote the letter after a juror in the case reached out to them.

But, according to Merchan’s order, they did not obtain a sworn statement from the person, and according to the judge “such a motion ‘must contain sworn allegations’”.

In a reply letter to the misconduct allegations, reported by NBC News and CNBC, the Manhattan district attorney’s office referred to the claims as “seemingly inaccurate” and “vague” and noted that the person who was the source of the claim informed Trump’s team that their summary of the allegations “contains inaccuracies”.

Merchan stated in his order on Monday that the allegations “of juror misconduct should be thoroughly investigated”. But he noted that the court is “prohibited” from determining the credibility of these allegations based solely on the letter filed, which he described as being based on “mere hearsay and conjecture”.

“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.”

Trump’s lawyers also oppose a hearing to explore the alleged juror misconduct, saying that it would involve “extensive, time-consuming, and invasive fact finding” and that it would interfere with the president-elect’s transition into office.

The prosecutors said that by Trump’s team opposing a hearing, they were trying to force Merchan “to accept their untested, unsworn allegations as true”, according to the Associated Press.

The redacted letters were made public just one day after Merchan denied a bid from Trump’s team to throw out the conviction on grounds of presidential immunity.

The allegations of juror misconduct arise as Merchan is weighing Trump’s request to throw out the jury’s verdict in light of his recent electoral victory.

Merchan indefinitely postponed Trump’s sentencing last month to allow attorneys from both sides to present arguments regarding its future, given Trump’s return to the White House. However, he could rule in the coming days.