Former President Donald Trump hired a new white-collar defense attorney Monday to be part of his legal team a day before his New York City court appearance in Manhattan.
According to information collected by Fox News, Todd Blanche will act as defense attorney in the case against the Republican that was presented by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
In this way, Blanche joins Trump’s defense attorney, Joe Tacopina, as well as other lawyers who will be at the trial.
The source told the aforementioned outlet that Blanche will be “additional firepower” for Trump’s legal team.
Blanche comes from representing former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who was indicted as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation in 2019, pleading guilty to foreign lobbying, witness tampering, tax fraud and conspiracy.
All set for trial
Trump’s appearance Tuesday comes after the Republican was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last Thursday following an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Trump comes from traveling from Palm Beach, Florida, to New York City this Monday before his appearance. He is expected to appear in court in lower Manhattan at 11 a.m. Tuesday and be arraigned at 2:15 p.m.
So far it has not been clear what charges Trump will face, as the indictment remains sealed until arraignment.
The investigation into Trump has focused on alleged payments made with money from the 2016 presidential campaign to porn actress Stormy Daniels for $130,000 to buy her silence about a sexual encounter in 2006. He is also accused of paying $150,000 to the former model Playboy Karen McDougal.
The payments are being investigated by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission.
The investigation led to tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, in 2022.
With information from Fox News