Jury deliberating in Trump Organization's criminal tax fraud trial
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[December 06, 2022]
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jurors in the Trump Organization's tax
fraud trial started deliberating on Monday, following four weeks of
testimony about executive pay practices at Donald Trump's real estate
company that prosecutors said amounted to a criminal scheme that went on
for at least 15 years.
During approximately four hours of deliberations on Monday, jurors sent
one note to the judge requesting clarification on one of the charges.
The jury will pick resume on Tuesday.
The former U.S. president's company was charged with paying personal
expenses for some executives without reporting the income, and
compensating them as if they were independent contractors. Its longtime
chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty and testified
for the prosecution.
Trump, who last month announced a third run for the presidency in 2024,
was not charged in the case. In instructing jurors on the law before
deliberations began, Justice Juan Merchan in New York state court in
Manhattan reminded them that they had pledged not to let their opinions
about Trump influence their verdict.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Dec/06/images/ads/current/napa_sda_HFH_2022.png)
"Donald Trump and his family are not on trial here before you," said Merchan. "You must set aside any bias or prejudice you may have in favor
of or against Mr. Trump and his family."
Trump, a Republican, has called the charges politically motivated.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a Democrat as is his
predecessor Cyrus Vance, who brought the charges last year.
The Trump Organization has pleaded not guilty, and has argued that
Weisselberg, 75, acted on his own and for his own benefit. The company
faces up to $1.6 million in fines if convicted.
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![](../images/120622PIX/news_x12.jpg)
Trump Organization's former Chief
Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg leaves the courtroom in New
York, U.S., November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Yuki Iwamura
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Dec/06/images/ads/current/siu_sda_HFH_2022.png)
Weisselberg admitted to concealing payments the company made for his
luxury apartment, car payments and other personal expenses, as well
as tuition for his grandchildren that Trump personally paid. He
testified that he and other executives also received bonus payments
as if they were independent contractors.
Before the jury entered the courtroom on Monday, Merchan ruled that
it was fair for prosecutor Joshua Steinglass to have stated in his
closing argument last week that Trump was aware of the scheme
because the defense had sought to prove that Weisselberg and others
kept Trump in the dark.
Merchan said that even though Trump - who owns the Trump
Organization - is not on trial, his awareness could provide evidence
that the company is guilty.
The judge also denied the defense's request to include an
explanation about New York's gift tax in his instructions because he
said it would confuse the jury. He said there was no evidence that
the tuition payments Trump made for Weisselberg's grandchildren were
a gift, as the defense argued.
The case is one of several legal troubles facing the 76-year-old
Trump. He also faces Department of Justice probes into his efforts
to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and his
removal of government documents from the White House after leaving
office, as well as a state probe in Georgia over a push to reverse
his election loss in that state.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld in New York;Editing by
Noeleen Walder, Alistair Bell and Grant McCool)
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