Donald Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, revealed that the legal team was more upset than he was when he heard the guilty verdict on Thursday, a testament to how “resolute” the former president is.
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, is the lead attorney defending Trump in the hush money case and several other civil lawsuits.
He told Jesse Watters on Thursday that Trump’s reaction to being convicted on all 34 federal charges was almost surprisingly calm.
‘I’ve spent almost every day with him for six weeks, he’s so impressive. He was determined, strong… we were all more upset than him.’
Blanche, who said she hopes to appeal the trial judge’s decision not to recuse herself in a process that could take months and extend beyond the November election, praised Trump’s conduct.
Donald Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, revealed that the legal team was more upset than he was when he heard the guilty verdict on Thursday, a testament to how “resolute” the former president is.
“We were all sitting there and he said, ‘Come on, let me know what I need to tell the American people.’
Blanche said Trump should tell America “what’s in his heart,” adding that Trump didn’t need advice for his later news conference.
He added that the president “gave me confidence today” and promised that his team was ready to fight for Trump again.
“We do it because he gives us the energy and to help him,” Blanche told Fox News.
Trump had a big influence on the role of his defense team in selecting the jury, whom the lawyer praised.
—I’m not being derogatory to the jurors, man. They were great. They arrived punctually every day. They were engaged, they paid attention.’
However, Blanche never believed that Trump would get a fair jury in his hometown.
“The majority of people, an overwhelming number of people, had a very strong opinion of President Trump and it was not positive.”
Blanche told Jesse Watters on Thursday that Trump’s reaction to being found guilty on all 34 federal charges was almost surprisingly calm.
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, is the lead attorney defending Trump in the hush money case and several other civil lawsuits.
Ultimately, he said he “has to think” about whether he would do anything differently if given another chance.
“We all did the best we could and I wouldn’t change anything we did,” Blanche said, although he noted he might change his mind eventually.
Trump emerged from the courtroom visibly shaken after the jury found him guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
“This was a rigged and shameful trial,” he lamented to eagerly awaiting film crews and press.
The former president stated that the ‘true verdict will be on November 5 by the people.’
“Everyone knows what happened here…this is a Soros-backed DA.”
‘We didn’t do anything wrong. I am a very innocent man.
‘Okay, I’m fighting for our country, I’m fighting for our Constitution. “This was done by the Biden administration to hurt a political opponent.”
Attorney Todd Blanche sits with former US President Donald Trump as they attend Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments related to extramarital affairs.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche sits with former US President Donald Trump as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass presents his closing arguments.
‘I think it’s just a shame. And we will keep fighting and fighting until the end and we will win because our country has gone to hell.’
The former president was found guilty of all 34 serious crimes after a very brief deliberation.
Prosecutors had to reach a high bar to convince a 12-person New York jury that Trump conspired to help his 2016 election campaign by paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about their alleged sexual encounters. .
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg assembled all the evidence and witness testimony that they claimed was enough to charge Trump with 34 felony counts of “falsifying business records.”
Trump’s team attempted to lay out a strong defense of the former president, distancing him from Cohen’s payments to Stormy Daniels.
They also reiterated several of their strongest points, that hush money payments are not illegal and that Trump only wanted to avoid his family’s humiliation over Stormy’s alleged affair claims.
This is the first time that a former president of the United States faces a criminal trial.
Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential candidate and will face Joe Biden in the November election.
Prosecutors had to reach a high bar to convince a 12-person New York jury that Trump conspired to help his 2016 election campaign by paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about their alleged sexual encounters. .
A protester holds a sign outside Manhattan Criminal Court after the verdict.
It means the verdict could upend the race for the White House in 2024 and constitute a pivotal moment in American history.
Each of the charges Trump faces carries a potential maximum sentence of up to four years in prison.
Prosecutors spoke of a plot by Trump to “corrupt” the 2016 election by hiding a $130,000 payment from his “fixer” Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels alleged that she and Trump had sex a decade earlier, which he has denied.
The case featured explosive evidence from Daniels and exposed the “catch-and-kill” practices of the National Enquirer tabloid, which bought stories that could be damaging to Trump and suppressed them.
But the actual criminal charges concern something more prosaic: the refunds Trump signed for Cohen for the payment.
The refunds, paid by Trump in monthly installments, were recorded as legal expenses.
Prosecutors say it was a fraudulent label designed to conceal the purpose of the hush money transaction and unlawfully interfere in the 2016 election.
People celebrate outside Manhattan Criminal Court after the verdict.
Like Trump, his followers remain steadfast in their innocence.
Defense attorneys argued that Cohen actually performed substantial legal work for Trump and his family and was paid for it.
In a marathon day of closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys had one last chance to score points with jurors as they embarked on their momentous task.
The two sides offered wildly different accounts of Trump’s guilt, the strength of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses.
Prosecutors accused Trump of trying to “deceive” voters in the 2016 election by suppressing embarrassing stories that could torpedo his campaign.
“The name of the game was concealment, and all roads lead inescapably to the man who benefited the most: the defendant, former President Donald Trump,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the jury.
He said Daniels’ story was “confusing” and “will probably make some of you uncomfortable hearing it, but that’s the point.”
“In simpler terms, Stormy Daniels is the reason.”
But Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, said Daniels couldn’t be trusted.
Maria Korynsel, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, demonstrates near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate
Trump supporter confronts anti-Trump protesters outside courthouse
And he called the prosecution’s star witness, Cohen, the “biggest liar of all time,” giving him the acronym “the GLOAT.”
Blanche said: ‘President Trump is innocent. He committed no crime and the district attorney has not met his burden of proof, period.
Trump did not take the stand to present evidence in his own defense.
Towards the end of the trial, Trump angrily posted on social media that he was the victim of a ‘Kangaroo Court’. and added: ‘In God we trust!’
Jurors heard how the payment to Daniels unfolded in 2016 in the context of the release of a 2005 ‘Access Hollywood’ recording in which Trump could be heard bragging about sexually grabbing women without their permission.
If Daniels’ story had emerged after the ‘Access Hollywood’ scandal, it would have further damaged her campaign, the court heard.
Steinglass told the jury: “It’s not about whether you like Michael Cohen.” It’s not about whether you want to do business with Michael Cohen.
“It’s about whether you have useful, reliable information to give you about what happened in this case, and the truth is you were in the best position to know that.”