AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, Pool
Todd Blanche, one of the lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in his hush money case, wrapped up his closing argument on Tuesday — but not before he got a lashing by Judge Juan Merchan.
As he concluded his final argument before the jury in the defense of Trump — who is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business documents — Blanche reportedly made a request to the jury to “not send his client to prison.”
According to Harry Litman of The LA Times, Merchan responded harshly, saying: “I think that was outrageous, Mr. Blanche. Someone who has been a prosecutor as long as you should know. It’s hard for me to imagine how that was accidental in any way.”
The accounts of the statement by The New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonah Bromwich went into more detail about the exchange that followed:
Bromwich wrote:
Before he concluded, Todd Blanche asked that the jurors not send his client to prison. Now, with the jury excused, Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor who will give his side’s closing argument, stands up and objects. “That was a blatant and wholly inappropriate effort to call sympathy for their client,” Steinglass says, asking for a curative instruction.
Then Haberman wrote:
Justice Merchan is now excoriating Todd Blanche for making an “outrageous” statement. Merchan is clearly furious, and reminds Blanche, and not for the first time, that he was a prosecutor for long enough to know that it was out of bounds.
Bromwich followed up with more from Merchan:
“Making a comment like that is highly inappropriate,” the judge said. “It is simply not allowed, period. It’s hard for me to imagine how that was accidental.”
The prosecution is set to make their closing argument on Tuesday as well, with the judge’s instructions for the jury expected on Wednesday.
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