Former President Donald Trump.
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Prosecutors’ first witness in the tax evasion trial of the Trump Organization has tested positive for COVID-19.
Jeffrey McConney, the company’s longtime controller, tested positive while in court on Tuesday.
McConney coughed throughout his testimony Monday and Tuesday morning.
The Trump Organization trial took an unexpected twist on Tuesday thanks to a sudden COVID-19 test.
Manhattan prosecutors’ first witness in the criminal tax-fraud trial of former President Donald Trump’s international real-estate company tested positive for COVID-19 while in court on Tuesday.
Jeffrey McConney, the longtime controller for Trump’s namesake business, the Trump Organization, tested positive for the virus during a break in New York Supreme Court in lower Manhattan.
McConney coughed throughout his testimony Monday and Tuesday morning, prompting the prosecutors to ask him to take a COVID-19 test.
Patricia Pileggi — a personal lawyer for McConney being paid for by the Trump Organization — quickly put on a mask on Tuesday while discussing the matter with state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan as jurors were out of the courtroom.
“He’s not feeling too good,” Pileggi told Insider.
The jury in the high-profile trial was quickly dismissed after it was revealed that McConney had tested positive.
Under court rules, McConney — who revealed on the witness stand on Monday that he’s being paid $450,000 a year by the Trump Organization — will be allowed back in the courtroom on Monday if he feels better.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.