(Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, argued this week that the only reason leftist prosecutors pursued the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case is because Trump is again running for office.
Tacopina, who is representing Trump against the indictment brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, told ABC News on Sunday that Bragg’s charges are entirely political.
“If you’re an American and you’re concerned about rule of law, there should be no scenario where you want this to happen,” he said. “If you’re intellectually honest, we all know that had Donald Trump not been Donald Trump, and it was John Smith, this case would have never been brought. If he was not running for reelection, there is no way this case would have been brought.”
Tacopina pointed to federal prosecutors’ past decision not to pursue charges against Trump in this case, saying that even they knew it was too legally weak.
“This case is not even legally sufficient. Factually, it’s a joke,” Tacopina added.
The statute of limitations almost certainly guarantees the case will have no legal standing, Tapocina argued. Moreover, the agreement between Daniels and Trump’s team never involved Trump personally, he said.
“We do all know that it has to do with a confidential settlement agreement – a completely legal confidential settlement agreement with Stormy Daniels, her attorney. Michael Cohen and her attorney signed that together, Donald Trump did not,” Tacopina said. “And the entries into the ledgers would be misdemeanors, and they’re not even false – but they would be misdemeanors and way past the statutes of limitations.”
However, the attorney said in a separate interview with CNN on Sunday that he is not going to seek an immediate dismissal at Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday because “that would be showmanship and nothing more.”
“We will very loudly and proudly say ‘not guilty,’” he said.
Tacopina also predicted that Trump’s team will eventually file a dismissal — perhaps after the former president has used the case to build up his 2024 presidential bid.
“The team will look at every potential issue that we will be able to challenge, and we will challenge,” Tacopina told CNN, adding that the defense “very much anticipates a motion to dismiss because there’s no law that fits this.”
