A New York woman who was excused from the potential jury pool for the Trump Organization criminal trial said she could not have been an impartial juror in the case.
The New York advertising executive who identifies herself as Adrienne, told reporters outside the New York state Supreme Court that, “he’s guilty in my mind whatever the case is — anything he does, anything his corporation does.”
Adrienne told reporters there was “no way” she could be impartial in the case. “Absolutely not,” she said.
She was excused after telling the judge that she could not be away from work for the length of the trial, which could last weeks.
Another juror who was dismissed because her child goes to the same private school as Barron Trump and the grandkids of the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, said outside the court that ,”if it’s down to, can you be impartial about Donald Trump? I think it’s hard. They’re probably not going to find someone impartial either way.”
According to Insider, about 40 prospective jurors asked to talk to the judge about a conflict that would keep them from serving. They were expected to be excused.
Jury selection began in the criminal trial of the Trump Organization on Monday. Prosecutors in Manhattan accused the Trump Organization of running a years long scheme to defraud federal, state, and New York City tax authorities.
Prosecutors say the Trump Organization help some top executives avoid income taxes with off-the-book compensation, including rent, utilities, private school tuition, and leases for luxury cars.
“This was a 15-year-long tax fraud scheme,” Carey Dunn, then-general counsel at the Manhattan DA’s office, said at the time. “It was orchestrated by the most senior executives.”
Weisselberg pleaded guilty to multiple tax fraud charges in August and will serve as a key witness for the prosecution during the trial.
