Judge Merchan Targets Trump Lawyer Over ‘Outrageous’ Comment

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York chided his attorney for a comment about the former president going to prison, as jury deliberations are slated to begin Wednesday.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche, during his closing arguments on Tuesday, told the jury that the former president could go to prison if they convicted him, noting that the conviction would be based on former associate Michael Cohen’s testimony. He made the comment after describing Mr. Cohen as a “liar” who “lied to” the jury.

“You cannot send somebody to prison, you cannot convict somebody based upon the words of Michael Cohen,” Mr. Blanche said.

Prosecutors objected to his comment, which Justice Juan Merchan sustained. He then said that he would provide curative instructions to the jury after they returned from a break.

“That was outrageous, Mr. Blanche,” Justice Merchan said. “Someone who’s been a prosecutor as long as you have, someone who’s been an attorney as long as you have knows that it’s highly inappropriate.”

On Wednesday, the jury is likely to deliberate after a marathon day of closing arguments in which a Manhattan prosecutor accused President Trump of trying to mislead voters in the 2016 election for partaking in a payment plan involving Mr. Cohen that was meant to stifle embarrassing stories he feared would torpedo his campaign.

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“This case, at its core, is about a conspiracy and a cover-up,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors during summations that stretched from early afternoon into the evening.

President Trump’s attorney, by contrast, branded Mr. Cohen, the star prosecution witness, as the “greatest liar of all time” as he proclaimed his client innocent of all charges and pressed the panel for an across-the-board acquittal.

The lawyers’ dueling accounts, wildly divergent in their assessments of witness credibility, President Trump’s culpability, and the strength of the evidence, offered both sides one final chance to score points with the jury as it prepares to embark on the momentous and historically unprecedented task of deciding whether to convict the presumptive Republican presidential nominee ahead of the November election.

Throughout the trial, President Trump has characterized it as an attempt by Democrats to imperil his presidential campaign. Meanwhile, Justice Merchan issued a gag order on the former president, saying that he was intimidating potential witnesses, and fined him 10 separate times.

Lawyers for the former president have unsuccessfully sought to have the judge recused and repeatedly asked him to remove the gag order, which he refused to do.

The former president has pleaded not guilty and denies any relationship with an adult film performer that Mr. Cohen paid during the 2016 election. His lawyers also said that Mr. Cohen lied under oath when he claimed President Trump was aware of the payment before the election.

A verdict of not guilty would remove a major legal barrier, freeing President Trump from the obligation to juggle court appearances and campaign stops. If convicted, he is expected to appeal. The former president faces three other criminal prosecutions, but they are not expected to go to trial before the Nov. 5 election.

A guilty verdict could upend the 2024 presidential race, in which former President Trump is seeking to win the White House again. The Republican is locked in a tight contest with President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

A Reuters-Ipsos poll found that a guilty verdict could cost the former president support among independent and some Republican voters.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.