The young woman spent a month in the jury chair of the Trump Organization trial, evaluating witnesses and poring over documents to prove whether Donald J. Trump’s company committed a felony. are not. related to a tax fraud scheme by its chief executive.
Then, on Monday, the day the jury began deliberation, she was fired, along with three other alternate jurors who would replace the trial in the case that one of the 12 head cannot continue.
In an interview on Monday night, the woman, who requested anonymity because of concerns about potential harassment, said that during the week-long trial, the prosecution proved her case. The substitute juror said she believes she would deliver a guilty verdict if she did it intentionally.
And on Tuesday afternoon, when the verdict of 12 jurors weighing in for more than a day in a Manhattan courthouse was read aloud, it seemed they agreed with her: The family real estate business Donald J. Trump has been convicted of all counts.
The replacement juror concluded that Allen H. Weisselberg, the principal architect of the scheme while serving as the company’s chief financial officer, acted not only to enrich himself, but also his actions. He also aims to benefit the Trump Organization. Under New York law, prosecutors must prove that Weisselberg was not acting in his own interest.
The woman said she spoke to her fellow replacements after they were fired and they shared her views. She notes that, like her, they are younger than other jurors and may be more likely to see things the same.
But she said the defense team’s argument did not convince her of the corporation’s innocence. In fact, she says she finds the defense’s style to be bullying and sometimes inappropriate.
The defense’s chorus, “Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg,” unconvincing, the substitute juror said. Instead, she agreed with the prosecution that the plan was complex and could not be summed up in a single phrase.
She and the other surrogates were told when they were sent home that they could discuss the case and trial freely with the public for the first time.
The remaining 12 jurors began deliberations on Monday just before noon and continued into Tuesday.
They met in private, away from the courtroom on the 15th floor of Manhattan, where the prosecutor, defense and the press anxiously waited for the whistle to signal that the jury wanted to make contact.
The jurors heard that four times – three times to ask the judge to review some of the 17 counts against the Trump Organization corporations being tried.
At 3:42 they returned with their verdict.
Lola Fadulu contribution report. Susan C. Beach contribution research.
