Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over Donald Trump’s hush money trial, did not indicate whether the post appeared legitimate or may have been the result of a prank. | Seth Wenig/APJustice Juan Merchan informed prosecutors and Donald Trump’s attorneys on Friday about a newly discovered post on the New York court system’s Facebook page from a user who claimed to be the cousin of a juror.
Merchan, who presided over Trump’s recently concluded hush money trial, did not indicate whether the post — which is no longer visible on Facebook — appeared legitimate or may have been the result of a prank. Media efforts to locate the poster indicated that the post likely came from an account associated with someone who appears to be a regular troll of the New York court system’s social media pages.
Trump’s lead defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, declined to comment. The office of the Manhattan district attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Neither the post nor the May 29 argument notice is currently visible on the court system’s Facebook page, suggesting that they have been deleted.