Trump's lawyers warned a hung jury could spell disaster for Trump campaign

A “throw everything against the wall and see what sticks” strategy is emerging from Donald Trump's defense team in his New York hush money criminal trial — and it may reflect a desperate attempt to appeal to a potential "lone holdout juror," according to a new report.

"The scenario of a lone holdout juror causing a 'hung jury' and ensuing mistrial is neither the panacea Trump may believe it to be nor as grave a danger that those hoping for a Trump conviction fear it to be," former federal prosecutor Shan Wu wrote in The Daily Beast.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told the jury in his opening statement that Trump is not just a former president, but is also "a man, he’s a husband, he’s a father. And just like me" — a classic lawyer tactic to "humanize" the client so that the jury doesn't see them just as a criminal defendant, Wu wrote.

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Blanche had another message for the jury: “I have a spoiler alert: There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy.”

Wu writes that, "The outline of the prosecution case given in their opening, the case against Trump looks strong and his defense lawyers may have good cause to feel desperate enough to aim for a deadlocked jury. But even if they achieve that it is still not a complete victory."

Even if the defense is successful in reaching a holdout juror and causing a mistrial, it's very likely that New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg would immediately seek a retrial that could still be concluded before the 2024 election.

"Making a mistrial even more of a pyrrhic victory for Trump, a re-trial closer to the election would keep him off the campaign trial for an even longer period of time even closer to the election," Wu writes.

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