Donald Trump's lawyer has stated that the former president did not make up his allegation that he would be arrested last week; rather, it was based on "a number of leaks coming out of the district attorney's office" in Manhattan.
When questioned if Trump had lied about the indictment assertion on NBC's "Meet the Press" on March 26, attorney Joe Tacopina made the remark.
There had been a leak. On Monday, the day before that Tuesday, the Secret Service and the NYPD were scheduled to attend a law enforcement meeting to discuss the practicalities of the arraignment. Naturally, there were many reports that the arraignment would take place the following day, Tacopina continued. Therefore, "He just, I think he just assumed that that's what was going to happen based on those disclosures." Thus, the lawyer explained, "it wasn't about making things up, and he definitely doesn't want to be arrested."
Tacopina was subsequently questioned about whether anyone from the Manhattan district attorney's office had ever informed him of any "special arrangements" regarding Trump and a potential arrangement, as well as whether the former president had previously been informed of a potential arrest through his attorney.
Not via us, please. We have spoken with the district attorney's office about the logistics of an arraignment, should that be necessary. Yet there's no doubt that it wasn't from us. We all read about it in the newspaper on Monday or the Friday before, according to Tacopina.
Trump called on his followers to demonstrate and "take our nation back" in a post on Truth Social on March 18 in which he said that he anticipated being indicted. He cited a purported leak from the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
A probable indictment in the case, according to the former president, would be "based on an old & well disproved (by several other prosecutors!) fairy tale," he asserted, adding that no crime has been proven.
Regarding a $130,000 payment made to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels by Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen during his 2016 campaign, prosecutors are reportedly considering charging Trump.
Daniels alleges an affair with Trump, which the president rejects. According to Cohen, the former president gave him the go-ahead to pay Daniels so that she would keep quiet about the alleged affair. According to Cohen, the money was purportedly paid using campaign funds, which would be against the law.
Notwithstanding Trump's allegations that he is under investigation, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has not publicly discussed the possibility of apprehending the former president, and no charges have been brought against him.
Trump, who will run for president once more in 2024, told reporters at a rally in Waco, Texas, that he thinks Bragg could have dropped his case against him.
"I believe the case has already been dropped," They have nothing at all," Trump added, declining to elaborate. "The case is made up. Some of the cases are phony and contain nothing.
Similar claims were made by him on Truth Social on Sunday, where he claimed that there was "no evidence at all" that he had broken any laws and that Bragg's case against him was "DEAD." Cohen was also criticized by Trump for being a "disbarred lawyer & convicted Felon."
In relation to the payment to Daniels, Cohen pled guilty to charges of tax evasion, lying to a federally insured bank, and violating campaign finance laws in 2018.
In another interview with NBC on Sunday, Tacopina stated that Americans need to be concerned about the "weaponization of a prosecutor's office."
"And that's what it is, really. Throughout my 32 years working as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I hereby declare that I have never witnessed such a gross misuse of power. "When no misdemeanor exists, you cannot file a case, combine two misdemeanors to try to produce a felony, and yet fulfill the statute of limitations. This place is crime-free. Not even a bad act exists.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), both Republicans, have expressed reservations about Bragg's case against Trump.
Trump's handling of purportedly secret materials that were taken from his Florida Mar-a-Lago home by federal officials in early August is also the subject of an investigation by a special grand jury in Georgia and by the Department of Justice. He is also being investigated for remarks he made on the day of the 2021 Capitol breach.
In each case, he has denied any misconduct.
Trump's indictment would be the first ever of a former U.S. president, making history.
When questioned if Trump had lied about the indictment assertion on NBC's "Meet the Press" on March 26, attorney Joe Tacopina made the remark.
There had been a leak. On Monday, the day before that Tuesday, the Secret Service and the NYPD were scheduled to attend a law enforcement meeting to discuss the practicalities of the arraignment. Naturally, there were many reports that the arraignment would take place the following day, Tacopina continued. Therefore, "He just, I think he just assumed that that's what was going to happen based on those disclosures." Thus, the lawyer explained, "it wasn't about making things up, and he definitely doesn't want to be arrested."
Tacopina was subsequently questioned about whether anyone from the Manhattan district attorney's office had ever informed him of any "special arrangements" regarding Trump and a potential arrangement, as well as whether the former president had previously been informed of a potential arrest through his attorney.
Not via us, please. We have spoken with the district attorney's office about the logistics of an arraignment, should that be necessary. Yet there's no doubt that it wasn't from us. We all read about it in the newspaper on Monday or the Friday before, according to Tacopina.
Trump called on his followers to demonstrate and "take our nation back" in a post on Truth Social on March 18 in which he said that he anticipated being indicted. He cited a purported leak from the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
A probable indictment in the case, according to the former president, would be "based on an old & well disproved (by several other prosecutors!) fairy tale," he asserted, adding that no crime has been proven.
Regarding a $130,000 payment made to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels by Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen during his 2016 campaign, prosecutors are reportedly considering charging Trump.
Daniels alleges an affair with Trump, which the president rejects. According to Cohen, the former president gave him the go-ahead to pay Daniels so that she would keep quiet about the alleged affair. According to Cohen, the money was purportedly paid using campaign funds, which would be against the law.
Notwithstanding Trump's allegations that he is under investigation, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has not publicly discussed the possibility of apprehending the former president, and no charges have been brought against him.
Trump, who will run for president once more in 2024, told reporters at a rally in Waco, Texas, that he thinks Bragg could have dropped his case against him.
"I believe the case has already been dropped," They have nothing at all," Trump added, declining to elaborate. "The case is made up. Some of the cases are phony and contain nothing.
Similar claims were made by him on Truth Social on Sunday, where he claimed that there was "no evidence at all" that he had broken any laws and that Bragg's case against him was "DEAD." Cohen was also criticized by Trump for being a "disbarred lawyer & convicted Felon."
In relation to the payment to Daniels, Cohen pled guilty to charges of tax evasion, lying to a federally insured bank, and violating campaign finance laws in 2018.
In another interview with NBC on Sunday, Tacopina stated that Americans need to be concerned about the "weaponization of a prosecutor's office."
"And that's what it is, really. Throughout my 32 years working as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I hereby declare that I have never witnessed such a gross misuse of power. "When no misdemeanor exists, you cannot file a case, combine two misdemeanors to try to produce a felony, and yet fulfill the statute of limitations. This place is crime-free. Not even a bad act exists.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), both Republicans, have expressed reservations about Bragg's case against Trump.
Trump's handling of purportedly secret materials that were taken from his Florida Mar-a-Lago home by federal officials in early August is also the subject of an investigation by a special grand jury in Georgia and by the Department of Justice. He is also being investigated for remarks he made on the day of the 2021 Capitol breach.
In each case, he has denied any misconduct.
Trump's indictment would be the first ever of a former U.S. president, making history.
