The Trump Organization is facing a criminal case and has been charged with “off-the-books” deals to avoid taxes. On Tuesday, the company lost a bid to dismiss a group of jurors totaling 18 as it observed theem when one juror candidate who said she was biased against Trump, left the court. On Monday, the juror was called to the judge’s bench and dismissed after the private discussion.
Michael van der Veen, a lawyer who represents Trump’s company, said that the other jurors were “visibly chilled” by observing the earlier interaction and they might not have answered the question honestly.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, from the District Attorney’s office called it a “preposterous argument.” He said that it was van der Veen opinion and he appreciated it. But added that he didn’t have the same observation and didn’t buy the argument that the remainder of the jurors pool was tainted after watching one juror leave.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the criminal trial against the Trump company, said that he had closely observed the prospective jurors and that he disagreed with van der Veen.
Reuters was the first to report that the Trump Organization lost the bid to dismiss the potential jurors pool. It will take about a week to finalize the jurors from the initial jury pool. It would have taken much longer if the entire pool of jurors had been dismissed as the initial selection process would have had to restart.
The Trump Organization operates hotels, golf courses and real estate globally. It faces three tax fraud counts as well as six other counts. The company put in a not guilty plea. If found guilty, it could face a fine that could cross $1.5 million.
Alan Weisselberg, one of the recipients of the “off-the-books” perks including rent-free apartment and luxury cars and more has pleaded guilty, in August. He has taken a deal. However, he has said that the “off-the books” deal was cooked up executives and not members of the Trump family including Donald Trump. None of them have been charged but their company Trump Organization has been charged with several counts of tax fraud.
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