Judge calls defense attorney's comment on sending Trump to prison "outrageous"
Judge Juan Merchan said he'd give a curative instruction as to defense attorney Todd Blanche's remarks about sending Trump to prison.
During his closing arguments, Blanche talked about Cohen's credibility and told the jury: "Then he came in here, he raised his right hand and he lied to each of you repeatedly. You cannot send someone to prison you cannot convict somebody based upon the words of Michael Cohen."
Merchan said Blanche's comment was "outrageous."
"You know that making a comment like that is highly inappropriate. It simply not allowed. Period. It’s hard for me to imagine that was accidental in any way," the judge said, referencing Blanche's experienced career as a prosecutor and a defense attorney.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass had raised the issue and asked for curative instruction for the "ridiculous comment."
"That was a blatant and wholly inappropriate" effort to get sympathy for Trump, Steinglass told Merchan.
Steinglass also said Merchan should reconsider a curative instruction about retainer agreements because he said Blanche "doubled down that it's perfectly plausibly to have no retainer agreement when that is not the law in New York State." This was debated at the charge conference last week and Merchan said he'd look into the law.
Merchan did not make any comments about a potential curative instruction on the retainer issue.