Trump and His Lawyers: A Restless Search for Another Roy Cohn

 Lawyers for the former president can come and go as he demands they defend him first in the court of public opinion. They were hired after TV appearances or quick phone calls.

A lawyer who has never tried a case in court, whose phone was seized by federal agents executing a warrant last year, and who once hosted syndicated news segments bombastically defending the Trump White House was seated far to the left of the defendant, former President Donald J. Trump, on Tuesday in a Manhattan criminal courtroom.

Todd Blanche, a recently hired criminal defense attorney who also represents Boris Epshteyn, the attorney at the far-left end of the table, was seated to Mr. Trump's extreme right. Between them stood Joe Tacopina, a feisty figure on cable television who recently defended Kimberly Guilfoyle, the prospective daughter-in-law of Mr. Trump, in front of the House committee looking into the attack on the Capitol on January 6.

The tableau from Mr. Trump's arraignment on felony charges of falsifying business records, which was completed by another attorney, Susan R. Necheles, revealed more about the client than it did about the matter at hand. It was symbolic of his tireless search for the ideal attorney as well as his repeated replacement of attorneys who fall short of his expectations of what the ideal attorney should do.

Mr. Trump has long had a fascination with lawyers. He is fascinated with finding what he perceives to be good attorneys and is obsessed with making sure that they fiercely represent him in the court of public opinion.

As long as they defend him how he wants, his lawyers' flaws are rarely grounds for dismissal.

In many cases, this entails following Roy M. Cohn's lead, who served as Mr. Trump's first fixer-lawyer and represented him in the 1970s and early 1980s. Mr. Cohn gained a reputation for using threats, savage insults, and media manipulation. His background included him being indicted and eventually being disbarred.

According to conversations with half a dozen persons who have represented or been engaged in Mr. Trump's legal woes over the past seven years, Mr. Trump has continuously made unusual and impetuous efforts to find and hire the new Roy Cohn.

Although he knew next to nothing about their background, he occasionally recruited lawyers after a fast phone call after being impressed by their brief introduction or by watching them support him on Fox News.

The former federal prosecutor Evan Corcoran was hired by Mr. Trump to manage communications with the government over its efforts to recover secret materials in Mr. Trump's possession after Mr. Epshteyn introduced him over the phone during a conference call. As the government gathers evidence of obstruction of justice, Mr. Corcoran has subsequently become the target of government efforts to breach the attorney-client privilege and learn about his conversations with Mr. Trump in conjunction with a grand jury subpoena for sensitive material at Mar-a-Lago. In those conversations, Mr. Trump may have misled Mr. Corcoran, according to the prosecution.)

Jim Trusty, a former federal prosecutor, was hired by Mr. Trump to work on a case involving confidential materials after watching him commentate on television about one of Mr. Trump's legal troubles.

One of the first inquiries is, "Can you go on TV? " He practically picks his attorneys off of television," claimed one former Trump client who insisted on anonymity to protect the client's confidentiality. "It matters less what you actually say in court than how you come across on television for him."

The same attorney mentioned Mr. Trump's litigation against the Pulitzer Prize Board and writer Bob Woodward as examples of activities that any seasoned attorney would have understood would cause them to be "laughed out of court."

The former Trump attorney claimed, "He wants people who will go out and say things that lawyers can't say, things you just can't say in a courtroom." "Lawyers who resist succeeding less."

According to two of the former president's advisers, Mr. Epshteyn still supported the Woodward and Pulitzer lawsuits because he is "the good news guy" who only conveys to Mr. Trump information that he believes will please him (others claim Mr. Epshteyn has also delivered unfavorable information when it was necessary).

Epshteyn opted not to respond.

According to Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Mr. Trump, "President Trump has assembled a legal team that is battle-tested and proven on all levels." Witch hunts and hoaxes being launched against President Trump and his supporters have no chance since the law, facts, and reality are all on their side. President Trump will never back down from his fight for America and the people of this country.

According to several who have worked in Mr. Trump's orbit, he employs some seasoned attorneys with substantial expertise who are open with him even if they are aware he might ignore their counsel or, worse, criticize them for it. He has also not pressured them all to appear on television. However, experienced Trump watchers see a similarity between some members of his present staff and the so-called "elite strike force" that supported Mr. Trump's fanciful allegations of election fraud following his loss to Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Mr. Epshteyn was a member of the team that fought to retain Mr. Trump in office and has continued to work with the organization as a communication and in-house lawyer. However, when images from the Manhattan courtroom were released on Tuesday, a few of Mr. Trump's advisors were shocked to see Mr. Epshteyn seated at the defense table: The court transcript identified Mr. Blanche, Mr. Tacopina, and Ms. Necheles as the attorneys of record in the criminal matter, but Mr. Epshteyn was not. Mr. Trump had used funds given to his political action committee over the previous two years to pay at least $10 million to his attorneys before he began his presidential bid in November. According to a source acquainted with Mr. Trump's legal choices, the fact that he was not directly responsible for the money seemed to make him even more impetuous in his hiring of attorneys.

Mr. Trump is not a simple client; he frequently asserts to attorneys that he is brighter than them and more skilled in courtroom conflict. He frequently gives them advice on what to say in court as well as on television.

In a 2021 interview, Mr. Trump referred to Jay Goldberg, who assisted him with his divorce from his first wife, Ivana, and Mr. Cohn as the two best attorneys he had ever worked with.

"Jay Goldberg, you know, he was a wonderful Harvard student, but I'm not finding individuals like this. But he was very quick on his feet," Mr. Trump remarked before making it obvious how much he valued his lawyers' role in serving as his public face: I am aware that they must be there because many people choke, yet you never see them. In all fairness, they can't handle it when the press calls, you know, when you call, when the press calls, and they choke.

Some of the former president's advisors have expressed displeasure with Mr. Tacopina's television appearances, despite the fact that Mr. Trump has privately praised them. Mr. Trusty recently joined Mr. Tacopina in discussing the Manhattan criminal case, despite the fact that Mr. Trusty represents Mr. Trump in the classified documents case.

William P. Barr, a different attorney who has represented Mr. Trump, shook his head when he saw the defense table on Tuesday. Mr. Barr served as the president's attorney general.

Mr. Barr noted that attorneys working for Mr. Trump frequently reach the same judgment. Mr. Barr participated in an interview with the House select committee looking into Mr. Trump's bid to remain in office.

According to Mr. Barr, lawyers regret taking on tasks with him "inevitably." "They spend a lot of time themselves in front of grand juries or in depositions."