In his historic hush money trial taking place in lower Manhattan, former president Donald Trump is relying on one person more than anyone else: his lead defense attorney, Todd Blanche.
The first former US president to be tried on criminal charges, Trump was indicted on 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records ahead of the 2016 election for the purpose of concealing hush money payments made to women who claim they had sexual relations with him, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
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What is Todd Blanche’s background?
Blanche is a former prosecutor who has worked for several prestigious law firms in New York, including WilmerHale and Cadwalader and Wickersham & Taft LLP. He has served the US Attorney’s Office for over eight years as Co-Chief of the White Plains Division of the Southern District of New York.
In 2019, Blanche led the team representing former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort in a New York fraud case, in which he was accused of defrauding banks of more than $1 million by submitting false financial statements when applying for residential mortgage loans. The judge in that case ultimately dismissed the charges, but Manafort was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison as a result of two other federal cases.
Since April 2023, Blanche has worked as a founding partner of her firm, Blanche Law.
More: Defense lawyer Todd Blanche goes after Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels in opening arguments
Trump is reportedly not happy with Blanche
Blanche delivered the Trump defense team’s opening statement and is serving as his main lawyer in the hush money case, but Trump is allegedly unhappy with his performance.
Despite being the former president’s favorite lawyer for some time, Trump has recently turned against Blanche, according to reports by The New York Times.
The NYT added that shortly after the New York trial began, Trump began complaining about Blanche’s performance, his lack of aggression in the courtroom and his legal fees.
Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, as @rachelbarber_
