Sleuths hunt down intel on possible Facebook troll claiming early knowledge of Trump conviction

A post flagged by Judge Merchan claiming knowledge of Trump's criminal trial verdict early is starting a fuss

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published June 7, 2024 7:00PM (EDT)

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024.   (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024. (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)

On Friday afternoon, Judge Juan Merchan issued a letter to Todd Blanche and Joshua Steinglass — opposing heads of representation in Donald Trump's hush money trial — alerting them to a Facebook post written by a mysterious individual claiming knowledge of the verdict in the case prior to it being handed down.

In the letter, Merchan writes:

Dear Counsel:
Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System's public
Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention. In the comment, the user, "Michael Anderson," states:
"My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted. Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!"

Naturally, this called into question who this "Michael Anderson" is, but after a bit of digging, the post may be the work of a jokester. 

According to Politico, the post left on an unrelated May 29 argument notice has since vanished, and may have been have been the result of a prank by a "regular troll" of the New York court system’s social media pages. But that isn't stopping Trumpers from grasping to use the post as a possible way to upend Trump's upcoming sentencing on July 11.

"That provides grounds for throwing out any conviction," one man said in response to Anderson's post.

"Take it easy, I'm a professional s**tposter," the troll stated on their Facebook account later in the day.

 


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