The ruling in Donald Trump’s secret trial is expected to challenge Trump’s lawyer after he said a gag order prevented the former president from testifying, a lawyer said, saying “a serious ethics violation” was possible.
Attorney Todd Blanche stood next to Trump and nodded as Trump turned to him for recommendations as he made his own at a news conference.
And attorney Ron Filipkowski, editor of the liberal media site Meidas Touch, wrote Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, that Merchant questions Blanche’s recommendation to Trump. Filipkowski has long criticized Trump, describing himself on social media as a “demented fugitive from the GOP asylum. “Party. “
Trump spoke to the media outside the courtroom on Thursday as he made his remarks. It’s unclear from the video whether Blanche agreed that Trump simply wouldn’t testify or if he simply accepted that Trump is being kept secret.
Judge Juan Merchan then addressed Trump directly and told him he had the right to testify, regardless of the gag order. The Fifth Amendment also allows defendants to remain silent in criminal proceedings.
“Since Todd Blanche nodded ‘yes’ when Trump claimed that his right to testify had been taken away because of silence, Merchan has to start by asking about Trump’s understanding AND whether Blanche misadvised him about his Fifth Amendment rights. Filipkowski wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
In a similar tweet, Filipkowski claimed that Blanche may have committed “a serious violation of ethics. “
Todd Blanche nods in reaction to Trump’s claim that he can’t testify because of the silence imposed, which is a very serious moral violation in the middle of a trial for criminals. Surely Merchan will have to interrogate Blanche and understand why she lied to her consumer about her rights.
Newsweek reached out to Blanche and Trump’s lawyer, Chris Kise, for comment via email Friday.
Greg Germain, a professor at Syracuse University in New York, questioned Filipowski’s interpretation of the Array.
“I obviously don’t understand what Blanche said in the video, but even if she were to take the microphone and claim, knowingly and falsely, that silence prevented Trump from testifying, Blanche would not be subject to sanctions,” Germain told Newsweek.
He said Blanche had made her comments to the judge so that she would be disciplined.
“Lawyers can be punished for knowingly making frivolous arguments in court, they can’t be punished for making frivolous legal claims in public. Trump seeks to be clever by claiming that the gag order, which prevents him from making public comments about witnesses, would well spare him from having to testify in court.
“This, of course, is not true, as the ruling clarified. But, fortunately for politicians and pundits, making false statements during a political crusade is a matter of free speech and not illegal. Pointing out the fact is the task of our laid-back press, and voting for fair candidates is the task of the electorate,” Germain said.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is the first former president in U. S. history to be tried in a criminal case. He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of tampering with business records. He has stated that this case and other civil and criminal cases opposed to it are politically motivated.
Prosecutors are seeking to show that before the 2016 presidential election, Trump paid, or paid, two women — adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — not to reveal his alleged affairs with them. any of the women.
On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for nine violations of a gag order he imposed to prevent him from speaking to witnesses and jurors at trial.
On Thursday, prosecutors cited four alleged violations.
Merchan did not comment on the prosecutors’ request for additional penalties, but warned Trump that he could simply take additional action against them. He then refused to tell Trump’s lawyers whether Trump might preempt other people’s negative comments about the trial on his social media. media site, Truth Social.
Merchan told Trump’s lawyers, “I’m not going to be in a position to review the posts and determine in advance whether or not they post . . . I think when in doubt, stay away. That’s all I’m going to say. “.
Sean O’Driscoll is a senior crime and courts reporter at Newsweek, which is founded in Ireland. Its purpose is to inform about U. S. legislation. He has covered human rights and extremism extensively. Sean joined Newsweek in 2023 and has previously worked for The Guardian. The New York Times, BBC, Vice and others from the Middle East. He specialized in human rights issues in the Persian Gulf and conducted a three-month investigation into labor rights violations for the New York Times. In the past it was founded in New York City for 10 years. He is a graduate of Dublin City University and is a qualified lawyer in New York and an Irish notary.
You can reach Sean by emailing s. odriscoll@newsweek. com. Languages: English and French.
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