Donald Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said Tuesday that the former president would plead not guilty to a felony to make the Stormy Daniels hush money case go away.
Tacopina sat with Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos Tuesday morning ahead of Trump’s historic indictment in Manhattan after spending “all night” with the former president, the attorney said Fox 5 Robert Moses from New York.
Tacopina told Stephanopoulos that he didn’t believe the Daniels’ hush money case, which is being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, would see a jury trial.
He also said he couldn’t see how Trump could comply with a gag order.
“Here’s something unique,” Tacopina said on GMA. “The defendant is the leading Republican nominee for President of the United States and will campaign. Difficult to impose a gag order if he is going to answer questions about his current legal situation.”
Donald Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said Tuesday that the former president would plead not guilty to a felony to make the Stormy Daniels hush money case go away.
Trump is seen entering Trump Tower on Monday after arriving in New York City on Tuesday for his arraignment in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case
In fact, Trump’s attorney Chris Kise told CNN Tuesday morning that he believed Trump would speak to the cameras placed outside the courtroom before and after the arraignment.
The former president plans to fly back to Florida on Tuesday so he can make remarks to a group of reporters in Mar-a-Lago at 8:15 p.m.
Tuesday morning ahead of Trump’s scheduled 2:15 a.m. impeachment, Tacopina remarked to Fox 5 that the whole situation was “surreal,” also telling a Vice reporter that the ex-president is “ready to leave.”
“There’s really a lot of mystery here because we’re doing something that’s never been done before,” he said on GMA. “We have an arraignment at 100 Center Street involving the Secret Service.”
He told Stephanopoulos that Trump would be fingerprinted.
“I think there will be typical processing, which won’t take long — 20, 30 minutes — there won’t be any handcuffs, but it’s going to be processed to some degree as anyone would be,” Tacopina told me.
He also said it “wasn’t going to be a long day in court” and that he has only interacted with Manhattan prosecutors “on certain procedural matters.”
“But nothing material about the charge,” he continued. “They have not shared it with us and will not share it with us until it is unsealed. But we know the basis of the indictment and the actual allegations in the indictment.”
Then Tacopina also said he didn’t believe Trump would enter a guilty plea to a felony.
Tacopina (right) appeared Tuesday morning on Good Morning America with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos (left)
Police officers stand outside the press room on the street near New York’s Manhattan District Court ahead of Trump’s indictment on Tuesday
NYPD officers stand outside New York’s Manhattan Criminal Court Tuesday morning ahead of Trump’s landmark indictment
“One thing I can assure you as I sit here today, they won’t be a guilty plea in this case,” the attorney said, adding, “I don’t think this case will go to a jury.”
Trump raged on Truth Social Monday night after longtime DC journalist Michael Isikoff, writing for Yahoo Newsreported that the former president would be charged with 34 felonies, but would be spared handcuffs and a police photo.
‘Wow! District Attorney Bragg just LEGALED the various points and full details of the pathetic charge against me,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“I know the reporter and unfortunately he does too,” Trump added, pointing to Isikoff.
Isikoff became a national figure in the 1990s, as the first D.C. reporter to know about President Bill Clinton’s affair with intern Monica Lewinsky.
“This means he MUST BE DECLARED IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said of Bragg, a Democrat. “Now, if he really wants to clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as a prosecutor, REPRESENT HIMSELF. He will go down in legal history, and his wife who hates Trump will, I’m sure, be very proud of him!”