NEW YORK — The Trump Organization trial kicked off Monday in Manhattan, where prosecutors and lawyers for the former president’s family real estate business began a weekslong process surveying New Yorkers on their political biases.
Judge Juan Merchan estimated it would take a minimum of two weeks to find 12 unbiased New Yorkers to serve on the jury. He expects the trial to last for five or six weeks.
The Trump Organization and Trump Payroll Corporation have pleaded not guilty to a host of criminal tax fraud and conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say the company ran a 15-year “off-the-books” tax evasion scheme, hiding millions in taxable income from authorities.
