Trump upends his defence by hiring new lead lawyer hours before arraignment

Todd Blanche is a former partner for one of the most elite law firms in New York

Former president Donald Trump upended his legal defence strategy before he faces arraignment by hiring a new lead defence attorney, according to Politico.

Mr Trump hired Todd Blanche, a former partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, to serve as the lead counsel to handle his legal defence for the Manhattan district attorney’s indictment.

A spokesperson for Cadwalader did not respond to a request for comment from Politico.

Mr Blanche told Politico in an email that he resigned from the firm because “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.”

Along with Mr Trump, Mr Blanche has represented former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Igor Furman, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani who pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges that the previous Mahattan district attorney Cyrus Vance brought.

Additionally, Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina will also represent the former president in the legal proceedings.

Mr Trump is set to be arraigned on Tuesday for his role in reimbursing his former attorney Michael Cohen for paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The investigation began under Mr Vance but continued under current District Attorney Alvin Bragg. A grand jury voted to indict the former president last week before it left for a pre-planned break.

Mr Blanche called the investigation “politically motivated,” which Mr Trump and his allies have repeated, per Politico. Cadwalader is New York’s oldest law firm and considered one of its most well-respected. Mr Blanche said in his resignation email that “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.”