'I'm no defender of Blanche': Ex-Trump lawyer seems to take shot at current trial attorney

Donald Trump's former attorney may not be on the best terms with his current one.

Ex-Trump lawyer Timothy C. Parlatore, who represented Trump for a period of time in the former president's criminal documents case in Florida, defended the decision to represent Trump in his first CNN opinion piece Saturday. But he wasn't defending someone on Trump's existing legal team: Todd Blanche.

Blanche, who represented Trump in his losing criminal hush money cover-up case, has come under fire for his gaffes at trial. Trump was ultimately convicted of 34 felonies in the case.

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While Parlatore defended Trump's right to counsel, and even Blanche's decision to take the job to represent the former president, he didn't appear willing to defend Blanche on other fronts.

"Allowing defendants with politically unpopular opinions to face imprisonment without a competent defense is antithetical to the American system of justice and the principles of equal justice under the law. And had Trump not been able to be represented in his Manhattan criminal trial by the lawyers of his choosing, it would have undermined the conviction that was ultimately handed down," Parlatore argued Saturday. "To be clear, I am no defender of Blanche, with whom I briefly worked on the Trump team."

Parlatore added that "some have questioned his motives or political ambitions," but noted that "does not lead to the conclusion that he or other attorneys should not have taken on the case."

"This 'pearl-clutching' was evident in a troubling op-ed for the New York Law Journal penned by former prosecutor, Elliott B. Jacobson, who argued that it is unethical for Blanche, or any private defense attorney for that matter, to represent Trump in his criminal trials," Parlatore added.

Read the article here.