Trump's lawyer slammed as he says trying to 'influence election' is not wrong during hush money trial

WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump's attorney Todd Blanche during the opening statement on Monday, April 22, 2024, said that there’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election, The Hill reported.

He made the statement after Manhattan prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said that Trump orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.

Donald Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche says there's nothing wrong with trying to 'influence an election'

In his first remarks to the jury, Blanche said, "President Trump is innocent. He did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office should never have brought this case."

The first criminal trial of a sitting or past president began with opening comments that gave a sneak peek at the testimony that would likely take place in a gloomy Manhattan courtroom over the next few weeks.

In his opening statement to the jury, the district attorney referenced two of Trump's prior criminal prosecutions, which center on his purported attempts to tamper with the results of the 2020 presidential election following the loss to President Joe Biden.

Colangelo said in his opening remarks, "It was election fraud — pure and simple." However, Blanche implied that Trump's agreements were no different from a regular nondisclosure agreement, pointing out that hush money alone isn't illegal.

He said, "I have a spoiler alert: There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy."

He devoted many of his opening remarks to disparaging the prosecution's anticipated star witnesses and trying to undermine their credibility before the jury saw anybody take the stand.

Blanche informed the jurors that they couldn't rely on Michael Cohen, the former fixer and personal attorney of Trump who arranged the hush money transactions at issue in the case. Cohen is expected to be a star witness because he has subsequently turned against his old employer.

Cohen's prior guilty convictions were brought up by Trump's legal team, who painted Cohen as a liar who is now generating income by disparaging the former president on cable news, his podcast, and his book.

Blanche said, "Given this, you cannot give [a] serious decision about President Trump relying on the words of Michael Cohen."

Internet slams Todd Blanche for his statement

Several internet users slammed Trump's attorney Todd Blanche as he stated that there’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election.

A social media user wrote on X, "He's got a losing case strategy if that's where he's headed imo. We already see it's full of holes," while another added, "Paying a bribe and trying to hide that to run for office is the issue."

One person also stated, "It’s not an opinion. It’s illegal," while another mentioned, "Yes Blanche left out the how and why." 

One individual also wrote, "His parking lot lawyers have obviously never studied any political law," while another added, "Blanche is stuck on the spin cycle."

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