Podbit · The Daily
In the hush money trial, Blanche cross-examined Michael Cohen with relentless aggression — calling him a flat-out liar and reminding the jury Cohen had once called Trump a dictator who 'belonged in a cage like an animal.' Trump didn't win the case, but Blanche's fight deeply impressed him.
Where this was said
At 7:07 · chapter starts 4:20
Before Blanche became a household name, he was, by Thrush's account, a 'pretty vanilla' federal prosecutor at the Southern District of New York — the 'Yankee Stadium' of federal prosecutors' offices — who made the predictable midlife pivot to a prestigious white-shoe law firm in 2017. [1] — Glenn Thrush "Blanche was a 'vanilla federal prosecutor' from the Southern District of New York who cashed out into a white-shoe firm in 2017. Boris Epsh…" 04:20 The pivot toward Trump came through Boris Epshteyn, the president's longtime legal adviser, who enlisted Blanche to help defend Paul Manafort, Trump's first campaign chairman. That single assignment embedded Blanche in the rotation of Trump criminal defense lawyers and set in motion a chain of decisions that would reshape his entire career. The Southern District background gave him credibility; the Manafort case gave him access; the next choice would give him everything.
Blanche was a 'vanilla federal prosecutor' from the Southern District of New York who cashed out into a white-shoe firm in 2017. Boris Epshteyn pulled him into the Trump orbit through the Paul Manafort defense — and that cameo changed everything.
Over his law firm's objections, Blanche left a prestigious white-shoe firm to start his own firm and represent Trump after the 2020 election loss — when Trump looked like a losing cause.
After Trump lost in 2020, Blanche had every reason to walk away. Instead, he defied his firm's leadership, started his own firm, and threw in his lot with Trump at Trump's lowest ebb. That loyalty became the foundation of everything that followed.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg indicted Donald Trump on 34 counts in the hush money case involving Stormy Daniels, which Blanche defended.
A man used ChatGPT as a de facto lawyer, sharing self-incriminating details in his chats. When the transcripts were subpoenaed, the judge ruled no attorney-client privilege applied and admitted the chats as evidence against him. AI first passes are useful — treating AI as your counsel is dangerous.
CIA operative Edwin Wilson armed Muammar Gaddafi with 10,000 machine guns and 20 tons of C4 hidden in barrels of mud and flew them to Libya himself. He was sentenced to 52 years and served 12 in solitary. He was also a founder of the same arms network Oliver North contracted for the Contras.
Kim Dotcom's legal nightmare had nothing to do with copyright infringement. He donated to WikiLeaks and Julian Assange — and the US government charged him under RICO statutes, seeking 186 years in prison as payback.
More than a decade after his indictment, the US is still trying to extradite Kim Dotcom from New Zealand — even after he suffered a stroke. He cannot be convinced the authorities are on his side; only the legal process, run by his lawyers, keeps him free.
The illegal wildlife trade and the drug trade aren't just parallel industries — they actively overlap. Smugglers force-fed cocaine to boa constrictors to evade customs, packed drugs beneath layers of live animals in crates with spitting cobras on top, and exploited the chronic under-resourcing of US Fish and Wildlife inspection teams.
Mario Tabraue was sentenced to over 100 years in prison for murder and drug trafficking. He served 12. Nobody — not even the DEA agent who put him there — knows why he got out. That agent, Larry Lovelace, now lives in rural West Virginia with a gun within reach every night, still expecting retaliation.
Anson Wong from Malaysia was the Pablo Escobar of the global reptile trade, supplying rare animals — including Komodo dragons — to buyers across the world. He was caught in a sting, extradited to the US, and served the longest wildlife crime sentence at the time. The animals seized from him went on to stock some of America's biggest zoos.
Zelig Williams landed a role in Hamilton at just 19 while still in college — a rare achievement in a world where most Broadway dreams die young. By 28 he was a veteran ready to mentor the next generation, until he disappeared without a trace on October 3, 2024.
Season 5 of Dateline: Missing in America brings six new unsolved mysteries. The show is explicitly asking listeners to engage — because a detail someone remembers might be the break investigators need.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.