Former President Donald Trump exploded at a member of his own legal team when he first heard that a lawsuit in New York over hush-hush payments to a porn star would interrupt the presidential primaries, according to a new book.
The apparently unfavorable decision sent Trump into a frenzy, according to a new book by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl.
“That’s in the middle of the primaries! If I lose the presidency, you will be the reason!” According to the book, Trump yelled at his lawyer, Todd Blanche.
The reported eruption, reproduced in the Atlantic Oceancame before Trump had adopted a strategy to turn four criminal trials in his favor, and was experiencing a steady rise in the Republican presidential polls even as his mugshot was taken in Fulton County, Georgia and he faced a total of 91 criminal charges .
According to the book, Trump reacted “angrily” to a judge’s decision on the trial
But according to a source, the former president threw a 30-minute tantrum at the time.
According to Karl, who interviewed Trump for his earlier book “Betrayal,” the drama came as the contours of the case, hush payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels, were still being settled.
“The trial date for the hush money case was later set during a hearing before Judge (Juan) Merchan, where Trump appeared via video from a room at Mar-a-Lago,” he said. writes in the excerpt from his new book ‘Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party.’
‘For most of the performances, Trump listened in silence, his microphone on mute. But when the judge announced the date of the hearing – March 25, 2024 – he reacted angrily, waving his hands and shaking his head,” the book said.
According to the report, Trump attacked his respected attorney Todd Blanche
The trial on charges of falsifying corporate records set a trial date during the Republican Party’s presidential primaries
Trump has denied having an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels
Trump brought in Blanche, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, this spring as he prepared for a slew of legal challenges and prepared for his first hearing after his first criminal indictment. He is an experienced white-collar lawyer who has represented figures like Igor Fruman, a figure in Trump’s first impeachment.
“No one in the courtroom could hear him, but it sounded like he was yelling at the attorney sitting next to him at Mar-a-Lago, Todd Blanche. According to a Trump source, the former president exploded at Blanche because the March 2024 trial would come at a crucial point in the presidential campaign.”
Trump’s campaign directly disputed the account.
‘None of what is described ever happened. The uninformed source could not even explain their lie,” a Trump spokesperson told DailyMail.com in a statement.
“The trial date had previously been set in consultation with President Trump, his legal team and his campaign. There would be no reason to be upset about the date of the trial that everyone agreed on. President Trump and Mr. Blanche are united in the fight against these unlawful witch hunts and the weaponization of the justice system,” the spokesperson added.
The report details a difficult period for Trump, when he was on the brink of arrest and went after District Attorney Alvin Bragg, calling him a “reverse racist” and a “degenerate psychopath.”
That would be months before Trump would face gag orders in two other cases: a civil case in New York and a related January 6 federal case in Washington, DC.
Trump was already looking at the political calendar. Only after his indictment in the DC case would Judge Merchan show an openness to moving the case.
Trump’s legal team could still gain the upper hand by asking yet another judge, Aileen Cannon, to delay his separate criminal arraignment in Fulton County, Georgia. His team wants Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, to delay the case because of the challenges of accessing classified documents that Trump is accused of possessing at Mar-a-Lago despite national security laws.
Trump is accused of falsifying company records related to hush-hush payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels. He denies the accusations and calls all prosecutions against him part of a witch hunt.