Trump’s lawyer admits the ex-president was “shocked” to be charged with “30 counts of fraud” after finding out thanks to breaking news from the New York Times
- It comes as a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict the former US president
- Donald Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, spoke of his “anger” after the indictment
According to the former president’s attorney, Donald Trump was “shocked” to discover a Manhattan grand jury had voted to impeach him.
Speaking to Fox News’ Sean Hannerty, Joe Tacopina clarified that he and Trump, 76, learned of the charges through media reports alone.
“He’s ready to fight. You know he’s the toughest guy I know. He was shocked, you know, because we really weren’t — I was shocked,” Tacopina said of Trump’s response to the charges.
“I’ve never been so angry about an indictment because today the rule of law died in the United States of America. It’s dead. It’s dead,” Tacopina said.
It comes as Trump is expected to appear in court this Tuesday after being indicted by a grand jury on Thursday over alleged “hush money” payments ahead of the 2016 election.
Donald Trump was “shocked” to learn a Manhattan grand jury had voted to impeach him
Joe Tacopina clarified that he and Trump, 76, learned of the charges solely through media reports
The attorney added that Trump’s expected indictment Tuesday “is not complete.”
‘We’re arguing with them, you know, obviously a group called the Secret Service is involved now. I mean, this is going to be something we’ve never seen,” Tacopina said.
It is the first criminal case against a former president in US history.
Sources told the New York Post that the sealed indictment was filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court’s office in Lower Manhattan Thursday night.
The specific charges were not released, but the sources said Trump faces more than two dozen charges related to business fraud.
Citing two sources, CNN reported that Trump is facing over 30 business fraud-related cases.
“This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday.
This follows from alleged “hush money” payments before the 2016 elections
His attorneys, Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, told The Post that Trump “committed no crime” and vowed to “vigorously fight this political persecution in court.”
It comes as he attempts a third attempt to win back the White House in the 2024 Republican nomination.