Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, is reportedly giving long speeches to please his client while Michael Cohen and the jury stay connected.
MSNBC’s Adam Klasfeld posted from inside the courtroom before the lunch break:
Blanche is getting worked up, launching into an indignant speech with no apparent question:
“We aren’t asking about your belief. […] This jury…”—
Prosecutor: Objection.
Judge: Sustained
Blanche continues his angry statements, not questions, about the harassing phone call from the 14-year-old.
Prosecutor: “Objection.”
Judge: “Sustained.”
On that note — Lunch recess.
Earlier:
Cohen frequently delivers his testimony straight to the jurors — and they continue to hold eye contact with him, even throughout a contentious cross-ex.
It does appear that Todd Blanche is more interested in appeasing his client and sounding like an angry fighter instead of making a case to the jury that could undermine Cohen’s testimony.
With a mountain of documentation and lots of witness testimony for the prosecution, the Trump legal team still hasn’t offered much of a defense beyond claiming that Cohen acted alone.
It is reasonable to ask if this cross-examination fiasco is doing more harm than good for Trump.
Sure, the performance makes Trump feel better, but it doesn’t seem to be accomplishing anything.
Donald Trump will be debating President Joe Biden in six weeks, and the possibility seems to be growing that he will do so as a convicted felon.
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