The jury has begun deliberations in the tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization, but first they were reminded of their promise to not have bias against the former president or his company.
They were told by the New York Supreme Court Justice that they had to set aside any biases they might have against Donald Trump or his family.
The judge told them that Donald Trump and his family were not on trial in this case, as part of an hour-long instructions given Monday morning.
Three of the jurors said during jury selection that they did not like Trump or his politics. The three promised to be fair and impartial.
A mostly minority, mostly middle-class jury has been sent to the deliberations room with a laptop, a large monitor, and hundreds of financial records.
The jury must decide if two subsidiaries of the former president's company are criminally liable for a decade-long tax-dodge scheme run by the company's two top financial executives.
The payroll chief and the ex-CFO have admitted to breaking the law by cooking the payroll books.
The prosecutors said they did it to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes a year for the company's top executives.
To find the subsidiaries guilty of tax related crimes, jurors must agree that Weisselberg and/or McConney intended to enrich the company, not just themselves.
If they find that the two top moneymen acted for their own benefit, they must acquit the subsidiaries.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
