Trump Lawyer 'Shocked' at Former President's Solemn Response to Guilty Verdict - 2024-06-01

In an AP interview, Donald Trump 's lawyer Todd Blanche says he was 'shocked at how he took the verdict' with 'appropriate solemness.' Blanche, who was sitting next to Trump in the Manhattan courtroom as the jury foreman repeated the word 'guilty' 34 times, said he was surprised by the former president's stoic demeanor.

"I was shocked at how he took the verdict," Blanche said. "He just stood there and just kind of took it. And I think had a lot of appropriate solemnness for the moment that made me very proud to be sitting next to him when it, when it was happening."

Blanche added that he thought Trump was still handling himself well the day after the verdict, even as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee railed that the trial was unfair.

"He's not happy about it, but there's no defendant in the history of our justice system who's happy about a conviction the day after. But I think he knows there's a lot of fight left and there's a lot of opportunity to fix this and that's what we're going to try to do," said Blanche, Trump 's lead attorney in the New York case and his classified documents federal criminal case in Florida.

A jury of a dozen New Yorkers convicted Trump on all counts of falsifying business records, a felony punishable by either incarceration, probation or a fine. As the foreman read the verdict, Trump shook his head slightly, but didn't vent his frustration until he left the courtroom. Trump has vowed to appeal.

Blanche pushed back on President Biden's comments, saying it was natural for Trump to believe the law was being used unfairly against him, citing the three other criminal cases pending against the former president.

"I believe in the justice system, and I always will. And I don't think that that one case should change anybody's view," said Blanche, a former federal prosecutor who left his job at an elite law firm to represent Trump . "But if you were Donald J. Trump and you have four indictments ... you don't think you would say you thought it was rigged? OK."

Blanche acknowledged there was a chance Trump might be sentenced to jail time, but argued it would be "extraordinary" to send a 77-year-old first-time offender who was also a former president to prison for this type of case. Trump 's sentencing is scheduled for July 11.