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(NEW YORK) — Donald Trump’s lawyers are urging the New York judge in his criminal hush money case to throw out his conviction based on unsworn allegations of “grave juror misconduct” that prosecutors have described as vague and “seemingly inaccurate.”

While Trump’s lawyers argued the claims illustrate “the manifest unfairness of these proceedings,” Judge Juan Merchan criticized Trump’s lawyers for making claims consisting “entirely of unsworn allegations” and for opposing a hearing that would allow the allegations to be vetted.

“Allegations of juror misconduct should be thoroughly investigated. However, this Court is prohibited from deciding such claims on the basis of mere hearsay and conjecture,” wrote Merchan, largely rejecting the claims unless Trump’s attorneys provide sworn statements or consent to a hearing on the matter.

Trump’s claims were included in court filings unsealed on Monday, but the specific allegations were redacted.

Defense lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove — who Trump last month nominated to top positions in the Department of Justice — claimed to have uncovered evidence of juror misconduct that calls into question what they call the “dubious validity of the highly suspect verdicts rendered by the jury.”

Trump was found guilty in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

Judge Merchan has yet to sentence Trump, who has been seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds of presidential immunity following his reelection last month.

Trump’s lawyers, citing presidential immunity and other ongoing litigation, told Merchan they oppose a hearing examining their claims of juror misconduct, and instead asked the judge to weigh the claims as he considers Trump’s pending motion to throw out the case.

“This behavior is completely unacceptable, and it demonstrates without question that the verdicts in this case are as unreliable as DA Bragg’s promise to protect Manhattanites from violent crime,” the defense lawyers said, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case.

Prosecutors argued in a filing that the jury misconduct claims are vague and untested, and that Trump’s lawyers declined to include a sworn declaration. They wrote that the alleged source of the claims directly told Trump’s lawyers that their summary of the allegations “contains inaccuracies and does not contain additional information that I never shared,” and that they declined to sign a sworn affidavit.

“Defendant cannot short-circuit this process by insisting that this Court treat his unsworn and seemingly inaccurate allegations of jury misconduct as true,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors alleged that Trump’s lawyers are avoiding the proper mechanism to evaluate the claims by inserting them into the public domain while “opposing any endeavor to properly evaluate them.”

“Defendant does not want to participate in a hearing designed to evaluate these claims. He wants instead to use these unsworn, untested claims by his attorneys to undermine public confidence in the verdict,” their filing said.

Judge Merchan largely sided with prosecutors, declining to consider the claims unless Trump’s lawyers specifically move to vacate the verdict due to allegations of juror misconduct based on sworn allegations or evaluated through a hearing, which they so far have not done. Merchan still allowed both sides to docket their filings with significant redactions.

“This Court finds that to allow the public filing of the letter without redactions and without the benefit of a hearing, would only serve to undermine the integrity of these proceedings while simultaneously placing the safety of the jurors at grave risk,” Merchan wrote.

The exchange comes as the Merchan, on Monday, rejected Trump’s request to vacate the verdict in the case based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision.

Trump had sought to dismiss his criminal indictment and vacate the jury verdict on the grounds that prosecutors, during the trial earlier this year, introduced evidence relating to Trump’s official acts as president that was inadmissible based on the Supreme Court’s subsequent ruling that Trump is entitled to presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken while in office.

Merchan ruled that the evidence in the case related “entirely to unofficial conduct” and “poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”

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(MADISON, Wis.) — Officials are trying to determine why a 15-year-old girl allegedly opened fire at her school, Abundant Life Christian School, on Monday morning, killing a fellow student and teacher in a heinous crime that shocked the community of Madison, Wisconsin.

The motive appears to be a combination of factors, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference Tuesday.

Police are talking to students to determine if bullying was one of the factors, he said.

“Everyone was targeted in this incident and everyone was put in equal danger,” Barnes said.

The suspect, Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. Officers did not fire their weapons.

Two students were hospitalized in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, police said, while another three students and a teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect’s parents are cooperating with the investigation, Barnes told ABC News on Tuesday.

“They were cooperative. Despite this tragedy, they still lost a child. They still lost a member of their family,” Barnes said. “It is certain that they have probably more questions than anyone because they knew her. They lived with her and so we wanted to get an account from them of what kind of child she was.”

Her father is being questioned by investigators, Barnes said. He said he didn’t know whether the mother had been questioned, noting that she’s been out of town.

Students in kindergarten through 12th grade attend the Christian school. Police said the shooting was in a classroom during a study hall “full of students from multiple grade levels.”

“I was in the hallway, and I was changing from my shoes to my boots to go to lunch because I have recess after, but then I heard the shooting and screams,” a girl in second-grade told Chicago ABC station WLS.

A second grade teacher called 911 at 10:57 a.m., Barnes said.

Police initially said on Monday it was a second grade student called 911; on Tuesday, Barnes amended that to a teacher.

In the wake of Monday’s shooting, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are urging elected officials to combat gun violence.

Biden in a statement called the shooting “shocking and unconscionable,” and he mentioned his administration’s efforts to combat the gun violence epidemic in the U.S., including the implementation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Biden asked Congress to pass “commonsense” gun safety laws, including universal background checks, a national red flag law, and a ban on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” Biden said, adding, “We cannot continue to accept it as normal.”

“It’s another school shooting, another community being torn about and torn apart by gun violence,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in remarks Tuesday. “And of course, our nation mourns for those who were killed, and we pray for the recovery of those who are injured and for the entire community.”

Harris, who played a role in the Biden administration’s efforts to combat gun violence, stressed, “We as a nation must renew our commitment to end the horror of gun violence, both mass shootings and everyday gun violence that touches so many communities in our nation.”

“We must end it, and we must be committed to have the courage to know that solutions are in hand, but we need elected leaders to have the courage to step up and do the right thing,” she said.

ABC News’ Briana Stewart and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

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(SAN FRANCISCO) — A fellow tech executive was found guilty in a San Francisco courtroom on Tuesday for the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee.

Prosecutors said Nima Momeni stabbed Lee three times with a kitchen knife after driving him to a secluded area in April 2023.

Defense attorneys for Momeni previously said he acted in self defense in response to an attempted assault by an intoxicated Lee. Momeni had pleaded not guilty.

Lee, a former executive at cryptocurrency firm MobileCoin, was killed in the early morning hours on April 4, 2023, in the San Francisco neighborhood of Rincon Hill, according to police.

At about 2 a.m., camera footage showed Lee and Momeni leaving Lee’s hotel and getting into Momeni’s car, a BMW Z4, prosecutors said in a court filing.

Video shows the BMW drive to a secluded and dark area where the two men got out of the car. Momeni “moved toward” Lee and the BMW drove away from the scene at high speed, according to the court document.

Prosecutors have alleged that Momeni killed Lee over the alleged sexual assault of Momeni’s sister by an acquaintance of Lee.

Paula Canny, the defense attorney for Momeni, said at a hearing in May that Lee’s death arose from a mix of self-defense and accidental harm.

“There was no premeditation,” Canny said.

On the witness stand last month, Momeni said Lee had attacked him in a fit of anger touched off by a joke. Momeni had teased Lee, saying that he would rather spend his last night in town with his family than going to a strip club, where the two were possibly headed, Momeni recounted.

In the scuffle that ensued, Momeni did not realize that Lee had been fatally injured, said Momeni, the owner of an Emeryville, California-based company called Expand IT.

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(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is expected to waive extradition when he appears in court in Pennsylvania on Thursday, sources told ABC News.

In Pennsylvania, Mangione faces charges including allegedly possessing an untraceable ghost gun.

In New York, he faces charges including second-degree murder. Mangione has hired Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former member of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, as his lawyer in New York.

His court appearance is set for 9 a.m. Thursday.

Mangione was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9 after nearly one week on the run. He’s accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the CEO headed to an investors conference.

“Just a cold-blooded, horrible killing,” President-elect Donald Trump said at a news conference Monday.

Thompson’s murder ignited online anger at the health insurance industry. Many people online have celebrated the suspect and some have donated to a defense fund for Mangione.

“It’s really terrible that some people seem to admire him, like him,” Trump said.

“It seems that there’s a certain appetite for him. I don’t get it,” Trump added.

Sources said writings police seized from Mangione suggest he was fixated on UnitedHealthcare for months and gradually developed a plan to kill the CEO.

Among the writings recovered from Mangione was a passage that allegedly said, “What do you do? You whack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention,” according to law enforcement officials.

Neither Mangione nor his parents received insurance through UnitedHealthcare, the company said.

FBI agents and NYPD detectives spoke to Mangione’s mother the day before his Dec. 9 arrest after San Francisco police informed them she had filed a missing persons report and Mangione’s photo seemed to match the suspect photo, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Mangione’s mother told the New York investigators that the person in the widely shared surveillance images could be her 26-year-old son, sources said.

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(NEW YORK) — Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been charged with a seventh murder: the death of Valerie Mack, whose remains were first found 24 years ago, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday.

A hunter’s dog discovered Mack’s decapitated body in a wooded area of Manorville on Long Island on Nov. 19, 2000. Her remains were bound with rope inside a black plastic bag which was wrapped with duct tape, according to a bail application that accompanied the new indictment.

Both of her hands had been severed from her body and one of her legs was cut off, the document said.

The rest of Mack’s remains were found more than a decade later, in April 2011, along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach, authorities said.

Prosecutors said they linked Heuermann to Mack’s death in part through a mitochondrial DNA analysis of a female hair found on Mack’s body. It matched the profiles of Heuermann’s wife and daughter, the bail application said. At the time of Mack’s murder, Heuermann’s daughter would have been between 3 and 4 years old.

Prosecutors said they also linked Heuermann to Mack’s death through evidence recovered on some of the 350 electronic devices they seized from him that include his “significant collection of violent, bondage and torture pornography” dating back to at least 1994. This online collection included images of mutilation and tying up women with ropes, two things prosecutors said are consistent with injuries inflicted on Mack and how she was bound, officials said.

Investigators said they found one document that they believe Heuermann used to “plan out” his kills. The document was created in 2000, the year Mack was killed. Under a section named “supplies,” Heuermann allegedly listed “rope/cord,” “saw/cutting tools,” and “foam drain cleaner.” Under a section labeled “DS,” believed to stand for “dump site,” Heuermann allegedly listed one of the locations where Mack’s remains were found, officials said.

The document also included a “body prep” section with a note to “remove head and hands,” according to the bail application.

Heuermann, 61, is charged with one count of second degree murder in connection with Mack’s death.

He appeared in court on Tuesday shackled in a suit and told the judge, “Your honor, I am not guilty of any of these charges.”

Judge Timothy Mazzei continued to hold Heuermann without bail.

The defense was given until next month to file motions related to evidence. The defense has questioned the DNA methods prosecutors used and may try to limit admissibility at trial. The defense is also considering whether to ask the judge to sever any of the murder charges from others.

The New York architect was initially arrested in July 2023.

Heuermann has pleaded not guilty in the murders of six other women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. The first victim was found in 1993 and the last victims were found in 2010.

Heuermann has pleaded not guilty in the murders of six women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. The first victim was found in 1993 and the last victims were found in 2010.

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(NEW YORK) — Accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is being charged with a seventh murder: the November 2000 death of Valerie Mack, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Mack’s remains were discovered in Manorville and Gilgo Beach. The New Jersey woman was identified through DNA. Like the other victims, prosecutors have said she was also involved in sex work.

Mack’s parents are expected in court when Heuermann is arraigned on a new murder charge.

Prosecutors named Heuermann a suspect in Mack’s death in June based on evidence allegedly found on an electronic device seized from Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park on Long Island.

Prosecutors have said Heuermann kept detailed notes about serial killings, body disposal and torture pornography.

The architect and father has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the murders of six women whose remains were found in a remote spot along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach and parts of eastern Long Island.

Heuermann, 61, is scheduled to appear in court in Riverhead at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

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(MADISON, Wis.) Officials are trying to figure out why a 15-year-old girl allegedly opened fire at the Christian school she attended, killing a fellow student and teacher in a heinous crime that shocked the community of Madison, Wisconsin.

The suspect, Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers reached Abundant Life Christian School on Monday morning, police said. Officers did not fire their weapons.

Two students were hospitalized in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, police said, while another three students and a teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police have not yet suggested any motive for the attack nor said whether they believe the victims were specifically targeted.

The suspect’s parents are cooperating with the investigation, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told ABC News on Tuesday.

“They were cooperative. Despite this tragedy, they still lost a child. They still lost a member of their family,” Barnes said. “It is certain that they have probably more questions than anyone because they knew her. They lived with her and so we wanted to get an account from them of what kind of child she was.”

Her father is being questioned by investigators, Barnes said. He said he didn’t know whether the mother had been questioned, noting that she’s been out of town.

Students in Kindergarten through 12th Grade attend the Christian school. Police said the shooting was contained to “a classroom in a study hall full of students from multiple grade levels.”

“I was in the hallway, and I was changing from my shoes to my boots to go to lunch because I have recess after, but then I heard the shooting and screams,” a girl in second-grade told ABC Chicago station WLS.

A second-grader also made the 911 call, Barnes said.

“Let that soak in for a minute,” Barnes added. “A second-grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school.”

President Joe Biden called the shooting “shocking and unconscionable” and called on Congress to act immediately.

Biden urged Congress to pass “commonsense” gun safety laws, including universal background checks, a national red flag law, and a ban on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” Biden said in a statement, adding, “We cannot continue to accept it as normal.”

Biden also mentioned his administration’s efforts to combat the gun violence epidemic in the U.S., including the implementation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, while stating that more needed to be done.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement, “There are no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak we feel,” calling the shooting a “gut-wrenching tragedy.”

Evers said he and his wife are “praying for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were so senselessly taken and for the educators, staff, and the entire Abundant Life school community.”

“It is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home,” he said. “This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it.”

ABC News’ Briana Stewart contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Prosecutors on Long Island plan to announce a “significant development” in their case against accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann on Tuesday, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

The architect and father has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the murders of six women whose remains were found in a remote spot along Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach and parts of eastern Long Island.

Prosecutors have also linked him to the death of several other unsolved killings — including that of Valerie Mack, a New Jersey woman whose remains were discovered in Manorville and near Gilgo Beach. Like the other women, the prosecutors have said she was also involved in sex work.

Prosecutors named Heuermann a suspect in Mack’s death in June based on evidence allegedly found on an electronic device seized from Heuermann’s home in Massapequa Park on Long Island. Prosecutors have said Heuermann kept detailed notes about serial killings, body disposal and torture pornography.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney declined to comment.

Heuermann, 61, is scheduled to appear in court in Riverhead at 9:30 a.m.

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(MADISON, WI) — Details are still emerging about the course of the Madison, Wisconsin, school shooting that left three people — among them the 15-year-old female shooter — dead and several others injured on Monday.

Police said that Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha, used a handgun to kill one teacher and one fellow student in the shooting.

Rupnow died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers reached the school, police said. Officers did not fire their weapons.

Two students sustained life-threatening injuries and are in critical condition, while one teacher and two other students were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said in a Monday briefing that the shooting was contained to “a classroom in a study hall full of students from multiple grade levels.”

Police have not yet suggested any motive for the attack nor said whether they believe the victims were specifically targeted.

The suspect’s father reportedly spoke with police at one of their facilities shortly after the incident. Police are “trying to determine what he knew or may have not known about what happened today, but again, he lost someone as well,” Barnes said.

“The parents are fully cooperating, we have no reason to believe that they have committed a crime at this time,” Barnes said.

A second-grader made the 911 call, Barnes said. “Let that soak in for a minute,” Barnes added. “A second-grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school.”

President Joe Biden called the incident “shocking and unconscionable” in a statement Monday evening that called on Congress to act, “now.”

He insisted that they pass “commonsense” gun safety laws including universal background checks, a national red flag law and a ban on both assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“It is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” the statement said, adding, “We cannot continue to accept it as normal.”

Biden also mentioned his administration’s efforts to combat the gun violence epidemic in the United States, including the implementation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, while stating that more needed to be done and offering his prayers to those affected in Madison.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement, “There are no words to describe the devastation and heartbreak we feel,” calling the shooting a “gut-wrenching tragedy.”

Evers said he and his wife are “praying for the families and loved ones of those whose lives were so senselessly taken and for the educators, staff, and the entire Abundant Life school community.”

“It is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home,” he said. “This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The thousands of drone sightings reported over the last month in Northeastern states don’t appear to be “anything anomalous,” nor do they present a national security or public safety risk, federal officials said in a multiagency statement late Monday.

The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips in the last few weeks about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, said the statement, which was released jointly by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense.

Those tips have resulted in about 100 leads, with federal investigators supporting state and local officials.

“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the joint statement said.

Uncrewed aerial drones have been lighting up the sky at night in New Jersey and nearby states for weeks, since about mid-November, leading to concern from residents and speculation online. Some had demanded answers from local and state officials for answers.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have deployed infrared cameras and drone detection technology to ensure the drones flying over the New Jersey and New York area aren’t harmful, according to a law enforcement source. Dozens of agencies have been out daily to find answers and track down any operators acting “illegally or with nefarious intent,” the FBI said recently.

The agencies are also looking at social media and other photos to determine what exactly is in the photos. Most of the photos and video depict manned aircraft, according to a law enforcement source.

But the newly released statement appeared to take a sober view of the mysterious drone sightings, noting that federal official have yet to identify “anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”

“That said, we recognize the concern among many communities,” the statement said. “We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and support of law enforcement.”

ABC News’ Calvin Milliner, David Brennan, Luke Barr, Meredith Deliso, Luis Martinez, Matt Seyler, Aaron Katersky, Sarah Kolinovsky and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.

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