NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyer told The Associated Press he was surprised by Trump’s stoic demeanor as he listened to the verdict that made him the first former U.S. president 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 pronounced the sentence,” Blanche said. “He just stood there and just took it. And I think he had a lot of appropriate solemnity in that moment, which made me very proud to be sitting next to him when it happened,” Blanche said, adding that he thought Trump on Friday, the day after the verdict, was still handling himself well, even though the presumptive Republican presidential candidate criticized the trial as unfair.
‘He is not happy about it, but there is no suspect in the history of our justice system who is happy with a conviction the next day. But I think he knows there’s still a lot of fight and there’s still a lot of opportunity to resolve this, and that’s what we’re going to try to do,” said Blanche, Trump’s lead attorney in the New York case and his secret documents. case in Florida.
A jury of a dozen New Yorkers convicted Trump on all charges of falsifying corporate records, a crime punishable by incarceration, probation or a fine. As the foreman read the verdict, Trump shook his head slightly, but did not express his frustration until he left the courtroom. Trump has promised to appeal.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump portrayed himself as a victim of a “rigged” lawsuit that he claimed was orchestrated by Democrats to halt his presidential campaign. Afterwards, President Joe Biden said it was “reckless,” “dangerous” and “irresponsible” for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.
Blanche pushed back on Biden’s comments, saying it was normal for Trump to believe the law was being used unfairly against him. He cited the three other criminal cases pending against Trump: two cases in Georgia and Washington, where he is accused of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and one in Florida, where he is accused of illegally possessing classified documents after he left the White House. .
“I believe in the justice system, and I always will. And I don’t think that one case should change anyone’s mind,” said Blanche, a former federal prosecutor who left his job at an elite law firm to represent Trump. “But if you were Donald J. Trump and you have four charges … don’t you think you would say it was rigged?’
“I think it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, that’s dangerous. Just keep showing up to your four charged cases, sir. Stop saying it’s fake.’ You know. ‘Nothing to see here. Perfectly normal.’ I don’t think it’s dangerous. I think it makes the system better,” Blanche said.
The jury reached its verdict around 4.20pm on Thursday, just as it looked like deliberations would extend into a third day. Just a few minutes earlier, Judge Juan M. Merchan had returned to the courtroom to announce that, in lieu of a decision, he would send the jurors home for the evening at 4:30 p.m.
“I’m a trial lawyer and I’ve had a lot of cases and a lot of verdicts. And this one was by far the most surprising in terms of the timing of it,” Blanche said. ‘We were all ready to go home. I think it was pretty clear that they were going to keep working. any notes. The first note was quite complicated, about testimonies and the request to have the charges read back. So that’s a jury that’s in it for the long haul.”
Blanche and Trump had a pleasant conversation as they sat at the defense table waiting for what they thought were the last few minutes of the court day.
“We were kind of on the right track,” Blanche said. “A jury deliberation is stressful for everyone involved, but especially for President Trump. And so we try to make it clear to him that everything went as it should. And then the judge said: we have a verdict.”
Asked about his handling of the case, Blanche said the defense team had done its best.
Regarding Trump’s decision not to testify, Blanche said the decision was ultimately the former president’s.
“He definitely wanted to testify,” Blanche said. But he said they knew prosecutors could question Trump in areas that are “very complicated” because they are subject to legal challenges.
“There would have been a lot of side issues if he had testified, which I think would have made it a challenge for him,” Blanche said. “He was elected president and is running again, and so he clearly connects with people and with voters, and I think he can certainly connect with a jury as well. But it wasn’t that easy to come to that decision.”
Among the things Trump could have been asked about by prosecutors was a $455 million judgment pending against him in a fraud case brought by the New York attorney general and other judgments against him in lawsuits brought by E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexual assault.
Blanche acknowledged there was a chance Trump would be sentenced to prison.
“On the one hand, it would be extraordinary to send a 77-year-old to prison for a case like this. A first-time offender who was also president of the United States, I mean, I think it’s almost unheard of,” Blanche said.
On the other hand, Blanche said, “this is a highly publicized case,” in which some might argue that Trump deserves a harsher sentence because he is facing charges elsewhere. “So it will be, I think, a very controversial sentencing where we will obviously argue strongly for a non-incarceration sentence.”
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
