Former US President Donald Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche remains firm in his belief of Trump’s innocence in the hush money case, doubling down on his conviction after the verdict. Blanche expressed difficulty in securing a fair trial for his client.
In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Thursday, Blanche stated, “I strongly believe the jury should have found President Trump innocent. In the depths of my soul, I believe this. I have sacrificed my work for what I have done in the past few weeks. Despite what has happened today, I believe, and the facts prove, that my beliefs have not changed.”
Trump was convicted on Thursday of all 34 counts of falsifying business records, becoming the first former US president to be convicted of felony charges. These charges stem from Trump’s hiring of fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen to pay hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent the spread of alleged affairs with the former president.
Speaking to Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Blanche expressed his belief that Trump did not receive a fair trial.
He said, “For over a year, we have been saying that we cannot get a fair trial in Manhattan, we cannot get a fair trial with the judge. The results have largely been as we expected in many ways.”
Blanche added, “The key is, all decisions were made weeks or even months before the trial, including what evidence could be submitted or not. It was only when we attended the trial that we truly felt we were not being treated fairly.”
Blanche also discussed the composition of the jury and its “bias,” which the defense “could not eliminate.”
He objected to the trial being held in New York City during his CNN interview, stating, “Every member of the jury knows Donald Trump, whether as president, as a presidential candidate, or as the host of ‘The Apprentice.’ Therefore, I do not believe this is a fair trial venue.”
Trump himself maintained his innocence following the verdict, proclaiming, “I am a very innocent man.” He alleged, “From day one, this has been a rigged verdict, the judge is involved in conflicts of interest, should not have been allowed to preside over this case, absolutely not.” He vowed, “We will fight for our Constitution, the battle is far from over.”
The judge has set the sentencing date for July 11, just a few days before the start of the Republican National Convention. It is expected that Trump will be formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 during this convention.
(Reference: The Capitol Hill Tribune)