Todd Blanche via Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Todd Blanche is no longer a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. The reason appears to be fairly straightforward — the former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York is headed for a new “opportunity,” representing Donald Trump in criminal court.
As reported by Politico, in an internal email, Blanche said he could not continue his work in Biglaw and represent the former president. “I have been asked to represent Trump in the recently charged DA case, and after much thought/consideration, I have decided it is the best thing for me to do and an opportunity I should not pass up.” He continued, “Obviously, doing this as a partner at Cadwalader was not an option, so I have had to make the difficult choice to leave the firm.” Cadwalader confirmed Blanche departed the firm.
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Blanche joins Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina in representing Trump. However, this isn’t Blanche’s first foray into the legal troubles in Trumpland. As reported by Law360:
Blanche successfully defeated the Manhattan district attorney’s attempt to prosecute [Paul] Manafort for residential mortgage fraud on double jeopardy grounds, with both trial and appellate courts ruling that the onetime Trump campaign chief could not face state charges after his federal prosecution for the same conduct.
Blanche also represented former Rudy Giuliani associate Igor Fruman, who pled guilty to federal charges of soliciting illegal foreign political donations to boost a cannabis business. At a trial for Fruman’s co-defendants, Lev Parnas and Andrey Kukushkin, jurors saw photos of Fruman and Parnas posing with Trump, Giuliani, Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The criminal charges against the former president are currently under seal, however, Trump is expected to be formally arraigned later today. At that time, he’ll be charged, finger-printed, potentially have his mugshot taken, and the indictment will finally be unsealed.
Earlier: Trump Lawyers Warn Against Media ‘Circus’ As Chief Carnival Barker Boards Plane For New York
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].