—Day 4—
Former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby was found guilty on both counts of perjury.
—Day 3—
Wednesday marked the third day in the Marilyn Mosby trial and jurors were sent home with instructions so they can begin deliberating Thursday.
Two perjury charges is what former states attorney Marilyn Mosby is facing.
The government said this case was built on the information which shows Marilyn Mosby took funds out of her retirement account and she claimed adverse financial consequences due to COVID as the reason she qualified for the funds under the CARES ACT.
However, even though the money came from her retirement funds, the government said they don’t believe she suffered adverse financial consequences because she made around a quarter of a million dollars a year, and was never laid off.
They also believe her retirement funds should not have been accessed because the money is "owned by the employer until one is old enough or eligible to withdraw.”
The defense mentioned in their closing arguments that Mosby believed she was facing adverse financial consequences due to COVID after her travel business Mahogany Elite Travel was paused due to the pandemic.
They also said the government has to 'prove beyond reasonable doubt' that Mosby made a false statement and knowingly and willfully lied on the Care Act form, something they believe the government hasn’t been able to do.
Attorney J. Wyndal Gordon said this is part of the reason he believes Mosby felt the need to not take the stand in her trail.
“ I think she made the right decision," Gordon said. "It means that her belief is similar to ours that the government just didn’t do enough in our opinion to force her to actually come up from the trial table and take the stand and have to say anything because based upon what they presented, it definitely did not appear to reach their burden which was beyond reasonable doubt,” Gordon said.
The jury will begin a full day of deliberations on Thursday morning. If they don’t reach a decision concerning a verdict that could push them into early next week.
—Day 2—
The government began the second day of the trial by continuing to question their third witness, the forensic accountant.
The defense then cross examined her before calling three witnesses of their own.
The first witness was Shelonda Stokes, the director of the downtown partnership for Baltimore City. Her testimony greatly detailed a vacation that turned into a business idea for herself, Mosby and a group of their friends.
The second witness the defense called was Zy Richardson, an employee at the States Attorney’s office. During her testimony she said she informed Mosby her travel business was bad publicity considering her role as States Attorney.
The third witness was Jonah Perrin, a paralegal at the public defender’s office. He confirmed that he sent out messages from Governor Hogan which stated businesses were to stop operations due to the COVID pandemic.
The government and the prosecutors are doing exactly what they’re supposed to, prove their case before the jury and the judge.
The government believes Mosby lied when disclosing the reason she wanted to take money from her retirement fund after she selected the option to qualify her being that she experienced adverse financial consequences due to COVID.
The government also believes she tried to use her women’s retreat business, Mahogany Elite Travel under Mahogany Enterprises LLC., as a reason to add deductions on her tax return.
However, the government does not believe the business was yet operable.
Mosby's defense attorney said her business was started long before she received the retirement funds , and that the Cares Act did not specify how many times she was able to withdraw, only that it couldn’t exceed $100,000.
Law professor Doug Colbert, from University of Maryland, said both the defense and prosecutors believe they are presenting a strong case, but the closing arguments will be the deciding factor.
“ Very difficult to tell because both sides are doing what they should be doing, they are presenting the best case they have. We really don’t know until we all hear closing arguments and that’s when I think all of the pieces of the governments case will be put together and then we’ll be able to make an assessment,” Colbert said
It’s unclear if Mosby will take the stand that’s going to be decided on Day 3 of the trial.
If she does take the stand, the government plans to ask detailed questions about her past tax returns.
However, day 2 of the trial concluded with the judge asking both the defense and prosecutors to be prepared for closing arguments on Day 3.
—DAY 1—
Marylin Mosby is on trial facing perjury charges for withdrawing money from her retirement fund during the pandemic.
The government is arguing that Mosby was not facing financial hardship when she withdrew funds under the Care Act, which was passed during COVID-19 to help people who were employed but could not afford to put funds towards their retirement accounts.
The Care Act allowed people to withdraw up to $100,000 without specific guidelines concerning how they were allowed to spend the money.
Financial records show Mosby withdrew two large lump sums totaling around $100,000 throughout 2020.
Prosecutors say she used the money to claim hardship for her travel business and to use as a down payment on a property she was purchasing.
"There was no limitation as to how Mrs. Mosby could spend the money," J. Wyndal Gordon said.
Defense attorneys, however, argue what she did was not criminal and that she took her own money out of her retirement fund just like more than 700 other city employees who also utilized the Care Act.
Prosecutors called multiple witnesses, including an employee from Baltimore's city account and payroll services, the executive director for the City of Baltimore's retirement systems, and a forensic accountant from the FBI.
Some of Mosby's supporters who showed up on Monday say they believe this trial will work out in her favor, especially after hearing testimonies from the first few witnesses.
"With the executive director's testimony, it really didn't leave much, we were looking for this great crescendo and it was really anticlimactic in terms of what the government had to present. However, when cross-examination began, it was very powerful," Gordon said.
Defense attorneys say prosecutors need to prove that Mosby was not facing financial hardship and they also need to prove that she did lie knowingly on her application to find her guilty.