Trump privately fuming that his top lawyer 'doesn’t share the same contempt for the rule of law'

When he's in front of the cameras, former President Donald Trump condemns his ongoing criminal trial proceedings with authority and confidence, with lawyer Todd Blanche at his side. But behind closed doors, Trump is reportedly enraged at his lead attorney for not attacking the judge and prosecution with the same level of ferocity that he does.

That's according to New Republic staff writer Greg Sargent, who wrote that the ex-president's social media posts of Fox News personalities lauding his behavior in and out of the courtroom doesn't tell the full story. While Trump may posture with sureness that he'll beat the 34 felony counts Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged him with, his frustration with Blanche suggests otherwise.

Sargent cited a recent New York Times report in which sources confided to the publication that Trump is upset with his legal representation. He reportedly is lamenting that he does not have "a Roy Cohn," who was Trump's personal lawyer during his early New York real estate career. Before representing Trump, Cohn was chief counsel for the notorious Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin), and was later an attorney for various mob figures including John Gotti and Tony Salerno. He was ultimately disbarred after being charged with various crimes including perjury, witness tampering and professional misconduct.

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"Trump will never be satisfied with a lawyer who doesn’t share the same contempt for the rule of law that he does," journalist Timothy O'Brien, author of the book TrumpNation, told Sargent. "That’s what he took from Roy Cohn."

"Roy was brutal, but he was a very loyal guy," he added. "He brutalized for you."

The Times' report about Trump's frustrations with Blanche's criminal defense are mainly due to his refraining from attacking witnesses, a jury he views as unfairly biased against him and Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the proceedings. The former president is also pushing Blanche to take a "total war" approach to the mere suggestion that Trump should be criminally prosecuted for anything.

In his column, Sargent inferred from the Times' reporting that Trump "demands that his current lawyer must show a level of devotion and sacrifice that is quasi-absolute," and that "Blanche must attack witnesses, the jury, and the judge—in effect, he must treat the system itself as irredeemably corrupt."

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Earlier this week, Judge Merchan agreed with prosecutors that Trump violated his gag order nine times, which he imposed in order to prevent him from attacking witnesses, court staff and their families. He penalized the ex-president with $9,000 in fines ($1,000 is the maximum allowable financial punishment for violating a gag order) and threatened him with "incarceratory" consequences if he continued his behavior.

Trump's trial is now in its second week, and the process is expected to take up to six weeks in order for all expected witnesses to testify and be cross-examined. Currently, the Manhattan trial is the only one of Trump's four criminal cases to have been officially scheduled, and could be the only one to yield a verdict before Election Day.

Because two of the former president's indictments are in federal court, Trump could potentially have those cases dismissed by his appointed attorney general if he wins the presidential election this November. However, he would not be able to escape a guilty verdict in Manhattan even if he ascends to the White House again, as state charges cannot be dismissed except with a gubernatorial pardon.

Click here to read Sargent's column in full (subscription required).

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