'Insidious attack': Expert warns Trump's lawyer ready to break rules to get hung jury
Former President Donald Trump's attorney needs to be brought to heel by Judge Juan Merchan before Michael Cohen takes the stand, warned former Manhattan-based federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg in an MSNBC article Friday.
Specifically, there is a strong risk that when Cohen, the former attorney and fixer at the heart of Trump's alleged hush payment scheme being prosecuted as business fraud, takes the stand, Trump attorney Todd Blanche will defy established orders from the court and try to bring up evidence already ruled out of order, she said.
And Merchan should make clear to him just how severe the consequences will be if he does, Greenberg argued.
"Given Blanche’s willingness to make improper arguments in his opening statement and Trump’s reported desire for Blanche to be more aggressive in attacking the judge and witnesses, there’s reason to be concerned that Blanche might again refer to evidence the court has ruled off-limits — evidence that could confuse and mislead the jury and seriously prejudice the state’s case," she wrote.
Specifically, he could accuse the prosecution of misconduct, without any evidence to back it up. Already he has "disregarded the court’s evidentiary rulings and misstated the facts and law several times," she added.
"Any move by Blanche to disregard the court’s rulings would represent an insidious attack on the court’s authority that could effectively disrupt the trial, draw the ire of Merchan, and likely result in sanctions," wrote Greenberg.
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But he might simply not care about that, as Trump hasn't cared about his contempt of court fines. "After all, you can’t unring a bell; once the jury has heard evidence the judge says can’t be brought up, the damage is done. More importantly, the reward for a mistrial here cannot be overstated: Trump would score not only a massive legal victory, but a political one" — and Blanche could leverage his exhalted status as Trump's new attack dog lawyer to secure himself a job in a second-term Trump administration.
To prevent this, argued Greenberg, Merchan should make clear the consequences of further offenses will be "serious" and not simply a "slap on the wrist" — and lay out exactly what he's prepared to do to punish Blanche.
"Merchan must take all necessary and appropriate measures to protect the integrity of this trial from a criminal defendant hellbent on undermining our judicial system and a defense attorney who has lost all credibility with the court," Greenberg concluded.