Roger Stone juror slams Trump: 'He denigrates the concept of equal justice'

Seth Cousins, one of the jurors in the Roger Stone trial, criticized Donald Trump’s public interference in the trial in a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday.

“Elected officials have no business attacking citizens for performing their civic duty,” Cousins wrote. “When the president attacks our jury’s foreperson, he is effectively attacking every American who takes time off work, arranges child care and otherwise disrupts their life temporarily to participate in this civic duty.”

Trump repeatedly attacked the foreperson of the jury that found his longtime political ally guilty of multiple crimes including witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and lying to Congress. He was sentenced last week to 40 months in prison. Shortly after the sentencing, Trump launched another attack on the foreperson, baselessly claiming she “was an anti-Trump person totally” and that could amount to a “defrauding of the court.”

“His attacks denigrate both our service and the concept of equal justice under U.S. law,” Cousins wrote, noting there is “no factual basis” for Trump’s allegations.

“As individuals, we did not vote guilty until we were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt,” Cousins continued. “As a group, we did not return a verdict until we had reached a unanimous decision.”

Cousins noted that the foreperson Trump has attacked “oversaw a rigorous process” and on “several occasions” advocated for Stone’s rights as they deliberated.

Stone has used Trump’s public comments to argue in court that he should receive a new trial.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson criticized this ploy.

“Any attempt to harass or intimidate jurors is completely antithetical to our system of justice,” said Jackson. She specifically cited Trump for using “his Twitter platform to present his opinion about the foreperson.”

“The risk of harassment and intimidation of any jurors who may testify in the hearing later today is extremely high,” she said.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.