Todd Blanche, Mr. Trump’s top lawyer during the trial, is a former federal prosecutor, a member of the Democratic Party and a resident of New York City. However, Mr. Blanche left his lucrative position as a partner at a Wall Street law firm to join the Republican Party and moved to Florida to serve the biggest client of his career – the former President. Trump.
Former President Trump (center) with his legal team in court. Photo: BBC
Once a colleague of Mr. Bragg and the prosecutor against Mr. Trump, Mr. Blanche will now sit on the other side of the courtroom. This is only the second time he has accepted to be a defense lawyer for a criminal case.
Susan Necheles only joined Mr. Trump’s legal team in 2021, but she has long been famous for defending troubled politicians, real estate developers and some high profile crime figures. organization. Ms. Necheles was the lawyer who represented the Trump Organization when the corporation was convicted of criminal tax fraud and fined $1.6 million in December 2022.
Mr. Trump’s legal team also includes Gedalia Stern, a partner in Ms. Necheles’s law firm, and Emil Bove, a former federal prosecutor.
Witnesses are likely to be summoned
Mrs. Stormy Daniels. Photo: Reuters
Adult film star Stormy Daniels said she met Mr. Trump in 2006 at a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, was 27 years old at the time and was a rising star in the “hot” film industry. She asserted that she had intimate contact with Mr. Trump at that time.
Mr. Trump has long denied knowing Ms. Daniels. However, this actress revealed that she received $130,000 from the Republican politician through Michael Cohen, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, right before the 2016 election to keep quiet about the above relationship.
Since publicizing the accusations against the former president, Daniels has become a frequent target of attacks from Mr. Trump and his allies. But she confirmed that she would testify against the former president.
Mr. Michael Cohen. Photo: Reuters
Michael Cohen, who was accused of playing a role in the arrangement, began working as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer in 2006. In 2018, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance regulations by spending money to “hush” Ms. Daniels, but asserted that she did it under Mr. Trump’s instructions.
Mr. Cohen also accused the former president of concealing the scheme and avoiding scandal by reimbursing him through a series of payments billed as “legal fees.” Mr. Trump still calls Mr. Cohen a liar, while the former president’s legal team has tried to block this former lawyer’s testimony.
Allen Weisselberg is believed to be an important figure in the criminal case against Mr. Trump. As the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Mr. Weisselberg is accused of arranging for the former president to repay Ms. Daniels’ hush money and helping to cover it up.
Allen Weisselberg. Ảnh: Reuters
Mr. Weisselberg is no stranger to Mr. Trump’s legal troubles. In August 2022, he pleaded guilty to tax fraud, falsifying records and other crimes in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s investigation into the former president’s family’s corporation.
Under the plea agreement, Mr. Weisselberg must spend 100 days in jail and agree to testify in the ongoing prosecution of the Trump Organization. Later, Mr. Weisselberg also testified in the civil trial against the former president in New York and had to plead guilty to perjury. He was sentenced to an additional 5 months in prison on April 10.
As expected by observers, David Pecker, former CEO of American Media Inc, parent company of the National Enquirer tabloid, testified in Mr. Trump’s trial in New York at the end of the month. 4. Mr. Pecker claimed to have argued with Mr. Trump and this politician’s lawyer before the 2016 election about who would buy the silence of the women who said they had an affair with Mr. Trump. The former editor of the National Enquirer admitted that he bought the rights to stories that could be unfavorable to Mr. Trump, but did not publish them in his newspaper, and also paid to ensure that his opponents did not publish the stories. that.
Two other people who are also expected to be summoned to testify are Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump from 2006 to 2007, and Dino Sajudin, a former Tower gatekeeper. Trump, who asserted that Mr. Trump had an illegitimate child. Although Mr. Trump insisted on denying both of their stories, American Media Inc paid to buy their silence.
