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Items tagged with: blanche
#Trump lawyer Todd #Blanche is on cross-examination of Sally Franklin.
His argument is that Meredith McIver, the ghost-writer, was behind the language, as opposed to Trump.
Trump himself has always insisted that all of the words printed in his name are his. During the White House years, Trump aides would implausibly claim on the record that Trump’s speeches were written by him.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Trump keeps trying to talk to #Nechele while she’s lodging objections to prosecutors arguments as to why they should be able to question #StormyDaniels on “some details” so, he talks to his other lawyer, Todd #Blanche.
Susan #Hoffinger, a prosecutor, clarifies that Daniels will not describe “genitalia.”
Justice #Merchan concedes that Daniels’s may have “credibility issues,” but that it’s up to the jury to determine that.
Merchan seems a little nervous.
The evidence appears designed to lay out #Trump’s tendency to lie, his vulnerability among female voters, & motives for the cover up.
Trump lawyer #Blanche is now cross-examining Georgia Longstreet, asking her about #MichaelCohen & whether she tracked his #socialmedia as part of her job. She says she followed his tweets & his podcast. Asked if she listened to every episode of the podcast, Longstreet responds “absolutely not,” getting a big laugh in the courtroom.
#Blanche, #Trump's lawyer, is arguing about how a #WashingtonPost article should be discussed at the #TrumpTrial today.
He says he expects a witness to testify today about how the #AccessHollywood tape affected his 2016 campaign.
That appears to be a reference to #HopeHicks, who is expected to begin her testimony today.
Blanche is describing a Truth Social post made by Trump as an “alleged” post, a reminder that the defense has refused to stipulate basic facts in the case repeatedly.
#law
After Justice #Merchan explained #Trump’s freedom to speak as a #witness, he concluded, “please let your attorney know” if you have any more questions. Note that Todd #Blanche, the lead defense #lawyer, nodded along when Trump made the comments in question outside the courtroom yesterday.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
Side note, while Todd #Blanche was arguing against penalizing #Trump for violating the #GagOrder inside the courtroom, Trump was literally fundraising off it. In a message sent to supporters, Trump wrote that he’s “been FULLY GAGGED” & “stuck in court all day.”
The message included a link to a survey asking whether “you support President Trump more or less after every single witch hunt, raid, indictment, & arrest.“
#Blanche discusses #MichaelCohen’s Tik-Tok videos, saying, “This is not a man that needs protection from the gag order.”
This is a serious concern for prosecutors. Their #witness, who had said that he would be silent after having attacked #Trump, has not. + Justice #Merchan has already written that he is somewhat sympathetic to the defense’s argument here.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #GagOrder #TrumpTrial
After Justice #Merchan pointed out that no one is forcing #Trump to talk to the #press, #Blanche’s response, “I agree with that.”
Merchan continues to express concern about Trump’s rights to free speech, particularly as a political candidate. He says that a whole press area has been set aside for Trump in the hallway so that “your client, as candidate for the presidency, has the opportunity to speak about absolutely anything he wants.”
#Blanche is arguing that #Trump has to respond to reporters who ask him about #witnesses.
Justice #Merchan replies, “It was your client who went down to that holding area & stood in front of the press & started to speak. It wasn’t the press that went to him. He went to the press. He didn’t need to go in that direction.” He adds, “Nobody forced your client” to go talk to reporters in the courthouse hallway when he attacked #MichaelCohen.
#Blanche complains about media coverage in the argument, but #Trump seeks out the media, he gives multiple stmnts outside the courtroom & constantly discusses the trial. He’s running on his #criminal charges.
Justice #Merchan says he doesn’t understand Blanche’s argument comparing Trump’s inability to speak out freely w/journalists' ability to report freely on him everyday. “They’re not defendants in this case," Merchan says forcefully. "They’re not subject to the #GagOrder.”
#Trump atty #Blanche argues the purpose of the #GagOrder is to “protect the integrity of these proceedings” & that none of the 4 statements at issue were disruptive to the trial, & continues to say Trump’s statements are responses to political attacks.
Blanche mentions a comment from President #Biden at the WH Correspondents' Dinner in which the president made an oblique reference to #StormyDaniels, saying that Trump had been experiencing “stormy weather.”
The judge returned to the bench but #Trump took some extra time to return to the courtroom, which is unusual in this case. Now Trump is back & #Merchan has warned Todd #Blanche, his lawyer: “Let’s try to keep the breaks short.”
Trump is joined by his son Eric again, although Susie Wiles & Dan Scavino, two of his aides, have not re-entered the courtroom.
After briefly consulting w/ his defense team & leaning down to whisper to #Trump, Todd #Blanche asked #GaryFarro directly if he ever had any communications w/ #MichaelCohen about Trump & if he ever spoke w/Trump himself. Farro said no.
Blanche has finished his cross-examination of Gary Farro, & Rebecca Mangold, a prosecutor, has returned for re-direct questioning.
#Gary Farro is reportedly a bit irritated w/ #Blanche, #Trump's lawyer. Blanche suggests that Farro opened up a shell corporation, & Farro bites back: “I don’t open up shell corporations. I open up LLC accounts.” Blanche is directing jurors' focus to what #MichaelCohen did -- that is, effectively start a shell corporation that was used to pay #StormyDaniels. It’s a way to attack Cohen through Farro, making the former fixer sound deceptive & potentially criminal.
#Blanche is trying to cast some doubt on #GaryFarro’s testimony & use him to criticize #MichaelCohen. He asks Farro to say again that Cohen was a “difficult client.” Farro agrees that he was.
Blanche is also trying to separate Cohen's actions from #Trump's, arguing that the account was never established as related to Trump. Basically it’s defense's entire argument: that Cohen was acting on his own.
#Trump's lawyer Todd #Blanche, will conduct cross. It’s Blanche’s 1st #CrossExamination this trial.
It’s also the 1st time we’ve seen Blanche since the hearing last week in which he sought to argue that Trump had not violated the judge’s #GagOrder. Blanche lost that hearing.
Gary Farro was asked by Blanche about speaking with “the people,” (the prosecutors) Trump shook his head pointedly when Farro talked about meeting w/ prosecutors he had in DC ahead of his testimony.
#Pecker describes an urgent call from The #NationalEnquirer's editor, #DylanHoward, in Oct 2016, in which he was informed that #StormyDaniels was shopping a story of a sexual affair w/ #Trump for $120k.
Trump is subdued & not exhibiting much emotion as Stormy Daniels comes up. But the stress of the moment is more apparent on his lead lawyer, Todd #Blanche, who crossed his arms over his chest after she was brought up.
As #Conroy, laid out the #GagOrder violations, #Trump whispered to his lawyer Todd Blanche & frowned.
After they spoke, #Blanche rubbed his face several times.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Blanche downplayed the 34 charges of falsfying records #Trump faces as a "business records violation."
He highlighted the disparity between the $130k #HushMoney payment & what was paid to #MichaelCohen. He asks them, if Trump really was so frugal, would he have repaid Cohen so much? "This was not a payback," he said, adding: “He was President Trump's personal atty."
"would a frugal business man …repay [a] $130k debt to the tune of $420k?"
It seems like #Blanche will seek to convince the jury that everything was appropriate & done by the book, not even worthy of notice. That #Cohen was #Trump's lawyer, & he was paid for #legal services. But he'll also seek to distance his client from the matter: "President Trump had nothing to do w/the invoice," he said.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
"I have a spoiler alert: There's nothing wrong w/trying to influence an election," #Blanche says. "It's called democracy." [not the charge. The charge is falsifying business records, the #MensRea is to influence. Besides which, influencing an election through illegal means is duh illegal]
"They put something sinsiter on this idea as if it were a crime," he continued. "You'll learn it's not."
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Blanche said that the prosecution told a “clean nice story," but that it is not as simple as they would have the #jury believe. He said that many of the docs in evidence are almost a decade old. The testimony, he suggests, is similarly old. He said, the story that #jurors heard "is not true."
#Trump largely avoided looking at the jury during prosecution's opening statement. He shifted his body in their direction during defense’s.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
Todd #Blanche presented the defense's opening statement.
"President Trump is innocent," are the first words of Blanche's opening.
“President Trump did not commit any crimes."
"He is cloaked in innocence.”
Blanche highlights that #Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, which is something that some of his more heated critics sometimes lose sight of.
Blanche seeks to have the jurors relate to his client, as he says Trump is doing "what any of us would do."
#Blanche said #Trump put up "a wall" between himself & his company when he became president. We know from the civil #fraud ruling that isn’t true.
Trump always seems to get his lawyers to basically testify about how *successful* the #TrumpOrganization, has been. - Blanche went off on this success narrative for a while.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney