Donald Trump’s lawyer admitted that the former president’s recent social post attacking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was “unwise,” though he also noted that he is not his client’s social media advisor.
Attorney Joe Tacopina was pressured during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about Trump’s post on Truth Social, which included a since-deleted image of himself holding a baseball bat near an image of Bragg with his hands up.
“Mr Trump this week described District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a ‘Soros-backed animal’, said he was ‘doing the work of anarchists and the devil’, called him a ‘degenerate psychopath’, called him a Soros racist. vice versa’ and ‘this is the Gestapo,'” said NBC host Chuck Todd. “As his lawyer, do you stand behind those comments?”
“As his attorney, I want to dissect this case because it is one that should not be brought before anyone but Donald Trump and will not be brought,” Tacopina replied. “Let’s be clear about that.
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“Does anyone really think, left, right or center, that someone else would be prosecuted for making a civil settlement in a hush case with their own money? Of course not,” he continued. “Nobody’s ever been prosecuted for that. You know, the closest we’ve come is John Edwards at the time, where a donor paid $900,000 to put his mistress and child somewhere. That case was eventually dismissed by the Department of Justice after they couldn’t get a conviction. And that was with a donor.”
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“The distinction here is so huge, and it’s obvious to everyone, again, if you’re a supporter of Donald Trump or you don’t like anything about Donald Trump, we as citizens in this country should all be concerned about arming a parquet. And that’s what this is,” he added.
Former President Donald Trump, left, may be sued by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (Shane Bevel / NCAA Photos via Getty Images / File | Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images / File)
“Would you advise a client to personally attack a prosecutor in this way?” said Todd. “I mean, it’s inhumane, Mr. Tacopina.”
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“Again, I am not his social media advisor,” Tacopina replied. “I think that was an ill-advised post one of his social media people made, and he quickly deleted it when he realized the photo attached to it.”
“You’re talking about the baseball bat,” Todd said. “He didn’t take away the other rhetoric.”
“You’re referring to the baseball bat thing, which of course was on the cover of the New York Post. New York Post thought it was a pretty rough hit. Here’s the thing: We went through January 6th. So this isn’t as a possibility that “Trump rhetoric leads to violence. It’s happened before. Aren’t you afraid this could happen?”
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Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, above, testified before a grand jury about allegations of hush money payments he arranged on Trump’s behalf. (AP Photo / Mary Altaffer / File)
“I don’t accept the statement that his rhetoric caused violence. I think violence was on the way that day. But I’m not here to discuss that, Chuck,” Tacopina said. “I’m not going to defend or condemn anything related to social media. That’s not what I’m doing. I’m not a Trump PR person. I’m a trial attorney and attorney. And I’m talking about this case in Manhattan, that’s a case that would not be brought before anyone but Donald Trump.”
Todd and Tacopina further debated whether Trump used personal funds to fund hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 election campaign.
“Honestly, I think you’re a little narrow-minded looking at this now,” Tacopina told Todd, “because there’s no reporting. obligation, that would be one thing. If he had taken campaign funds, it would be something else. None of these things happened here. ‘
A doorman stands in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/File)
Later in the program, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, joined Todd in the studio.
Bharara took aim at Tacopina’s argument that the case against Trump is unprecedented, saying that assumption is “simply wrong.” Bharara also defended Bragg as “cautious and considered” in conducting a year-long investigation against the former president, saying Bragg is in no rush to indict Trump.
Referring to Bragg’s convicted star witness, he added, “Michael Cohen is the least guilty person when a crime has been committed.”
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
