NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyer told The Associated Press he was surprised by Trump’s stoic demeanor as he listened to the ruling that made him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. Todd Blanche sat to Trump’s left in the Manhattan courtroom as the verdict was read. The jury foreman repeated the word “guilty” 34 times.
“I was shocked by the way he handed down the sentence,” Blanche said. “He just stood there and just took it. And he was very proud to be sitting next to him when it happened because at that moment he felt a lot of appropriate solemnity.” Blanche said. He added that he thought Trump was still coping well on Friday. This despite the fact that after the ruling, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate criticized the trial as unfair.
“He’s not happy about it. But there has never been a defendant in the history of our judicial system so happy to be found guilty the next day. But I think he knows there’s a lot of fighting left and there’s a lot of opportunity to resolve this, and that’s what we’re going to try to do,” said Blanche, Trump’s lead lawyer in the New York case and his confidential doc. For Florida.
A jury of 12 New Yorkers found Trump guilty of falsifying business records. This is a serious crime punishable by imprisonment, probation, or fines. Trump shook his head slightly as the director read the verdict, but he did not express his frustration until he left the courtroom. Trump vowed to appeal.
In an interview with reporters Friday, Trump described himself as the victim of a “rigged” trial that he claimed was orchestrated by Democrats to halt his presidential campaign. President Joe Biden later said, “It’s reckless, dangerous and irresponsible to say this was rigged just because you don’t like the verdict.”
Blanche responded to Biden’s comments by saying it’s natural for Trump to believe the law is being used against him. He cited three other criminal cases pending against Trump. Two counts of indictment in Georgia and Washington on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and a case in Florida on charges of illegally possessing classified records after leaving the White House. .
“I believe in the justice system, and I always will. And I don’t think that one incident should change anyone’s opinion.” said Blanche, a former federal prosecutor who left her job at an elite law firm to defend Trump. “But if you were Donald J. Trump and there was an indictment of four people… you wouldn’t say you thought it was rigged? great.”
“I think it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, that’s dangerous.’ Continue to appear in the four indictment cases. Don’t tell me it’s rigged.’ You know. ‘There is nothing to see here. It’s completely normal.’ I don’t think it’s dangerous. I think it makes the system better,” Blanche said.
The jury returned its verdict around 4:20 p.m. Thursday, with deliberations expected to continue into a third day. Just minutes earlier, Judge Juan M. Merchan had returned to the courtroom and announced that instead of sentencing, he would send jurors home at 4:30 p.m.
“I’m a trial lawyer, I’ve been to a lot of trials, I’ve won a lot of verdicts. And this was the most amazing timing,” Blanche said. “We were all ready to go home. I think it’s pretty clear that they’re going to keep working. There was no note. The first note was a very complicated note about the testimony and asked that the charges be read again. So it’s about being a jury in the long run.”
Blanche and Trump were sitting at the defense table, chatting happily as they waited for the final minutes of court.
“We had our hearts in the right place,” Blanche said. “Jury deliberations are stressful for everyone involved, but certainly not for President Trump. So we’re trying to set his mind straight that everything is going as it should. Then the judge said the decision had been made.”
When asked about the handling of the case, Blanche said the defense team did their best.
Regarding Trump’s decision not to testify, Blanche said the decision was ultimately up to the former president.
“He definitely wanted to testify,” Blanche said. But he said he was aware that prosecutors could cross-examine Trump in “very complex” areas. Because this area is subject to legal appeal.
“If he had testified, there would have been a lot of sideshows and it would have been a challenge for him,” Blanche said. “He was elected president and is running again. So I think he can definitely connect with people, connect with voters, and definitely connect with juries. But making that decision wasn’t that simple.”
Among the things prosecutors were able to question Trump about was a $455 million judgment pending against him in a fraud lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general and other questions filed against him in a lawsuit filed by E. Gene Carroll, who has accused Trump of sexual assault. There was a ruling.
Blanche acknowledged that Trump would likely be sentenced to prison.
“On the one hand, it is unusual to send a 77-year-old man to prison for an incident like this. “I think it’s almost unheard of for a first-time offender to also be the President of the United States.” Blanche said.
On the other hand, Blanche said, “This is a very publicized case,” and said some might argue that Trump should face harsher punishment because he faces charges elsewhere. “So I think it’s going to be a very controversial sentence where we’re going to be fiercely arguing for a non-incarceration sentence.”
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
