Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche was reprimanded by Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday morning after the judge ruled that the former president must stand trial starting March 25.
Merchan dismissed the Trump legal team’s attempts to dismiss charges associated with the ex-president’s purported affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels and the alleged falsification of records efforts to quiet a financial exchange before the 2016 presidential election.
After Merchan’s decision to keep the March 25 date of the trial—the first criminal trial against a former or sitting president—Trump’s legal team fired back. Blanche called it an “injustice.”
He also said during what was described by MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin as a “heated exchange” with Merchan in which the judge told Blanche, “Stop interrupting me.”
Newsweek reached out via phone and email to Blanche and the Trump campaign, as well as the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, for comment.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought the case forward, charging Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records—including the ex-president allegedly paying Daniels $130,000 to keep the supposed affair clandestine. Trump has denied the affair and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
It was the first of four indictments against Trump last year, yet he has remained a popular figure within the Republican Party and is currently on trajectory to claim the GOP nomination for president. If successful, he will face President Joe Biden in an election rematch.
This is a developing story.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.