Trump's Lead Lawyer Bench-Slapped Five Times on First Day of Trial

On the opening day of former President Donald Trump's Manhattan hush money trial, his lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, was repeatedly called out by the New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan. The proceedings began with a four-hour session dealing with pretrial matters before jury selection commenced, during which Blanche faced multiple rebukes for his lawyering performance.

Chronological Account of Judge's Criticisms

1. Font Size and Margin Issue

   Justice Merchan addressed the issue of pretrial motions and the requirement for "pre-motion letters" to be one page long. The defense team had filed a 51-page motion and 214 pages of exhibits attached to the initial pre-motion letter, prompting the judge to humorously point out the increasingly smaller font and margins being used.

2. Lack of Designated Trial Exhibits

   During the morning session, the prosecutor complained about the defense's failure to provide any designated trial exhibits. Justice Merchan gave a 24-hour deadline for the defense to identify the exhibits, emphasizing that their failure to do so would result in preclusion from introducing them during the trial.

3. Violation of Gag Order

   Prosecutors accused Trump of violating his gag order by targeting key witnesses in social media posts. Blanche argued that Trump needed to strike back against the witnesses' disparaging threats, leading the judge to instruct Blanche to file a written response, directing him to any portion of the gag order that allows exceptions in case of perceived attacks.

4. Importance of Adhering to Break Times

   While outside the hearing of prospective jurors, Justice Merchan reminded Trump's lawyers of the importance of adhering to allotted break times to maintain the proceedings' pace.

5. Supreme Court Hearing Request

   Before wrapping up the day, Blanche requested Trump's absence the following Thursday to attend a US Supreme Court hearing. However, the judge maintained that Trump, as a criminal defendant in New York County Supreme Court, was required to be present for his trial and not at the Supreme Court hearing.

Over the course of the day, Blanche's performance faced repeated criticisms from the judge, highlighting the challenges faced by Trump's legal team as the trial progresses.