This is bad by Blanche

May 28, 2024, 10:12 a.m. ETJust NowJust now


Maggie HabermanReporting from inside the courthouse

Todd Blanche is now mocking prosecutors’ inclusion of Trump’s own words in one of his partially ghostwritten books from years ago, which was entered into evidence as proof of him being as a micromanager. “If the government reads to you quotes from a book a decade, more than a decade earlier, you should be suspicious,” Blanche says. “That’s a red flag”


May 28, 2024, 10:12 a.m. ET


Jonah BromwichReporting from inside the courthouse

Blanche almost adopted a comedian’s tone, delivering the “red flag” line as if it were a punchline. The jurors closest to him looked a bit skeptical.


May 28, 2024, 10:11 a.m. ET2 minutes ago2 minutes ago


Jonah BromwichReporting from inside the courthouse

Already, Todd Blanche has hit upon a few key themes: He has focused on the documents, referring to this as a “paper case.” He has sought to distance Trump, saying the leader of the free world had nothing to do with the way documents were classified at the Trump Organization. And he has attacked Michael Cohen as a liar who was too greedy to do legal work for free.

“What makes more sense?” Blanche asked just now, asking whether the prosecutors’ allegations are more logical than the simple idea that Trump agreed to pay Cohen for legal work.