Trump company loses bid to toss initial jury pool in criminal trial [View all]
Source: Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump's company on Tuesday lost a bid to dismiss an initial group of 18 prospective jurors for the real estate firm's criminal trial on tax fraud charges after arguing that the pool was tainted by observing one juror candidate who said she was biased.
The Manhattan district attorney's office last year charged the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its then-chief financial officer, with awarding "off the books" benefits to some senior executives, enabling certain employees to understate their taxable compensation and the company to evade payroll taxes. Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty to charges including grand larceny and tax fraud while admitting to concealing $1.76 million in income.
During the first day of jury selection on Monday, one juror candidate who said in open court that she had strong feelings about Trump that would prevent her from being fair in the trial was called to Judge Juan Merchan's bench for a private discussion, and then dismissed from the pool.
Michael van der Veen, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, said on Tuesday before the jury entered that the other jurors in the pool were "visibly chilled" by observing that interaction and may not have answered the question honestly.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-company-loses-bid-to-toss-initial-jury-pool-in-criminal-trial/ar-AA13muba
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