It may not matter that the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s trial is giving the former president ample ammunition to attack his own legal team; what matters is that the one-person audience appears content—at least for the time being.
Considering the number of attorneys Trump has fired or let go in the past, this is an unexpected change of events.
Justice Juan Merchan reprimanded Trump’s attorneys for failing to object during racy testimony, but it seems like Trump is content with the outcome.
Here this week, the ex-president made a statement from the courtroom in which he thanked his attorneys. “Their work has been commendable, but I prefer to express my gratitude once the matter has been resolved. This way, they won’t be tempted to go overboard, especially since there is no case.”
The defense team representing the former president said that the specifics disclosed by porn star Stormy Daniels—who the prosecution questioned last week regarding her alleged sexual encounter with Trump—were biased. They asked for a mistrial twice, but each time the judge denied them. Merchan used the chance to attack Trump’s staff, especially Susan Necheles, for failing to do more to silence Daniels.
It was inappropriate for that to have leaked. Regarding explicit information like whether Trump wore a condom, Merchan expressed her wish that neither the questions nor the responses had been provided.
However, the reason Ms. Necheles did not raise an objection is a mystery to me. I fail to comprehend why she would not raise an objection when the subject of a condom is brought up.
Two seasoned litigators, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, and a criminal defense attorney, Necheles, who has previously argued before Merchan, head up Trump’s legal team.
Disputes with his legal staff and subsequent firings or benchings are nothing new for Trump. Some have gone public critics or sworn never to collaborate with the previous president again. Some employees departed voluntarily due to their disagreement with Trump and his advisors’ legal strategy.
Joe Tacopina resigned from his position as Trump’s hush money lawsuit attorney in January. At the end of June of last year, Trump’s legal team lost two key players: Jim Trusty and John Rowley. Conflicts with another member of Trump’s legal staff were the reason Tim Parlatore departed from that team as well.
Just before the former president was supposed to turn himself in to authorities in Georgia—where he and over a dozen individuals are facing charges of racketeering conspiracy pertaining to the 2020 election—last summer, Trump replaced attorney Drew Findling on his Atlanta legal team.
John Dowd, the former president’s lead attorney in the Russia probe, departed over five years ago as part of a larger shakeup in Trump’s legal staff during his battle with then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
There are several indications that Trump is not going to take any significant actions this time, even though Merchan’s severe critique of the defense team’s performance could cause him to dismiss them from his extensive list of disgruntled or dismissed lawyers.
To begin with, Trump has made it quite apparent that he has zero tolerance for Merchan, whom he has attacked as “conflicted” and “corrupt.” The prosecution’s intense questioning of Daniels in court has even thrilled the former president’s supporters. On Friday, Trump shared critiques of the case and the prosecution from fourteen conservative legal analysts on Truth Social.
“The legal obsceneness of this case is growing…” “Defense has been doing well, and has been all along,” conservative attorney Jonathan Turley tweeted to the ex-president.