Ex-President Reportedly Unhappy With Attorney Todd Blanche

Top line

Former President Donald Trump has complained in private about his attorney Todd Blanche, who’s defending him in his criminal trial in Manhattan, The New York Times reported Tuesday, with the ex-president believing the lawyer isn’t aggressive enough against witnesses, the judge and the jury pool as he decries the case against him as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media with attorney Todd Blanche outside his criminal … [+] trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 2.

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Key Facts

Trump has repeatedly criticized Blanche, the Times reported citing anonymous sources, claiming the lawyer has not sufficiently followed Trump’s directives and has not been aggressive enough.

The former president wants his attorney to go after witnesses, the jury pool—as Trump believes it’s biased against him—and Judge Juan Merchan, the Times reports.

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor who left his law firm to represent Trump, is one of three attorneys representing the ex-president in his Manhattan trial, along with Emil Bove—a partner at Blanche’s current firm—and experienced defense attorney Susan Necheles.

The attorney gained negative attention during a recent hearing over whether Trump violated a gag order against him, in which Merchan chided Blanche and said he was “losing all credibility with the court,” and Blanche has not cross-examined the two witnesses who have so far completed their testimony, former American Media CEO David Pecker and former Trump assistant Rhona Graff.

Trump has previously regarded Blanche as his favorite attorney, the Times reports, and Blanche also represents Trump in his two federal criminal cases, for trying to overturn the 2020 election and allegedly mishandling White House documents.

Blanche has not yet responded to a request for comment, while Trump advisor Jason Miller said in a statement the ex-president and his lawyers are “fully focused on fighting this ridiculous Manhattan trial,” claiming “anonymous comments from people who aren’t in the room are just that” and he “would be highly skeptical of any gossip or hearsay surrounding this case.”

What To Watch For

Trump’s criminal trial will resume Tuesday morning, and is expected to continue for another five weeks. The Times did not give any indication that Trump plans to remove Blanche from his legal team, although he could sour further on the attorney should the jury find the ex-president guilty.

Big Number

$4 million. That’s how much Trump, through his PAC Save America, has paid Blanche’s law firm, according to Federal Election Commission filings between April 2023—right after Trump’s indictment in Manhattan—and March 31, the most recent date for which campaign finance data is available. According to the Times, Trump has privately questioned his lawyers’ lofty paychecks, as the ex-president has paid his lawyers more than $50 million through Save America since his first indictment last year.

Contra

Blanche’s defenders noted to the Times that Trump has put the attorney in a difficult situation, as if he were to actually take Trump’s approach and angrily go after witnesses, jurors and others in the case, it would likely result in him being punished by the judge and could hurt Trump’s case. It’s “not always the optimal defense strategy at trial to attack full-bore every minute of every hour of every day,” former prosecutor Elie Honig told the Times.

Key Background

Trump is on trial for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York, which stem from reimbursement payments he made to ex-attorney Michael Cohen after the lawyer paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up her allegations she had an affair with Trump. While in the White House, Trump reimbursed Cohen through a series of payments made throughout 2017, which prosecutors allege were paid through the Trump Organization and falsely labeled as legal payments. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and his lawyers have maintained that the reimbursement checks were personal expenses that were not business payments. Blanche has represented Trump in court since he was first indicted in the case last year, leaving Big Law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in April 2023 and setting up his own firm Blanche Law in order to represent the ex-president. The attorney also served as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.