As if as a final hurrah, Justice Juan Merchan scolds defendant Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche Tuesday — the closing statements day in the Manhattan criminal court in the former president’s hush money trials.
It all started as Blanche began to wrap up his nearly two hour-long closing argument. He tried to remind the jury that their decision shouldn’t be influenced by their political or personal views of Trump and stressed that this is not a referendum on his candidacy. This was an interesting point to make since Trump and his campaign maintain that this entire trial is in fact a politically motivated sham that directly impacts the election.
But it was while thanking the jurors at the end of his remarks that Blanche made a mistake. He told them that if they remain attentive to the evidence presented in the courtroom, “this is a very quick and easy 'not guilty' verdict.” He also urged them not to send Trump t oprison
At that point, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass stood up and objected. “That was a blatant and wholly inappropriate effort to call sympathy for their client,” he said, requesting a curative instruction, The New York Times reported.
This is also when Merchan, who reportedly seemed furious, scolded Blanche for making an “outrageous” statement. He again reminded Blanche that, as a former prosecutor himself, he should know what is simply not allowed.
“Making a comment like that is highly inappropriate,” he told Blanche before the court break for lunch. “It’s simply not allowed, period.”
The reason why Blanche's remark is inappropriate is that he effectively misled jurors about the potential consequences of their voting to convict Trump, which could lead jury members to reconsider their decision in light of the claimed punishment. If found guilty, it will be Judge Merchan, not the jury, deciding what Trump's punishment should be – and it may not involve incarceration at all.
"That comment was improper and you must disregard it," Merchan told the jurors after lunch on Tuesday.
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