The 12 jurors who will decide whether Donald J. Trump’s company is guilty of crimes related to tax fraud that the executives have been dealing with began deliberating shortly before noon Monday and will continue Tuesday.
They have only returned to the courtroom once, to hear the judge repeat his specific instructions on one of the 17 counts facing the Trump Organization. Furthermore, they met in private and left the courtroom on the 15th floor of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan in a mood of anticipation that hardly bore during the day.
They weigh in on whether the actions of the executives, particularly longtime chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg — who has already pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the same conduct — implicate the company itself.
As the judge first explained directly to the jury on Monday, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office must have successfully proven that Mr. Weisselberg intended to some extent to help the company when he was compensated in perks such as the rent of an apartment, luxury cars and free cable, which saved him from paying his full tax burden.
Their momentous decision is now awaited by trial lawyers, who have been vociferously arguing the case for five weeks, regularly interrupting each other with objections or asking the judge to weigh in on a particularly heated legal dispute.
The stakes are high for several players in the legal drama:
Mr Trump, who has called the investigation that led to the allegations a “witch hunt”, will find out whether the company that served as his launchpad for the presidency will be branded a felon. (Mr. Trump was not involved in the tax settlement, although the prosecution claimed in their closing argument that he had “sanctioned” tax fraud.)
The jurors will also have the power to shape the early tenure of District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg. The trial was the most high-profile trial of Mr Bragg’s tenure to date, and a guilty verdict would stand out as a highlight, while an acquittal would be an embarrassing blow.
Mr. Weisselberg himself will either find his testimony condemning the company where he has worked for most of his adult life, or his account may result in a loss to prosecutors – who can then still investigate him for other crimes or, if they decide that he has not fulfilled the terms of his plea deal, request that he serve more time behind bars for those he has already pleaded guilty to.
