Todd Blanche, one of the lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in his hush money case, concluded his closing argument on Tuesday, but not without facing a reprimand from Judge Juan Merchan.
Blanche, defending Trump against 34 counts of falsifying business documents, reportedly asked the jury to “not send his client to prison” as he wrapped up his final argument.
Harry Litman of The LA Times reported that Merchan responded sharply: “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 New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonah Bromwich provided more details about the exchange.
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.”
