Details surrounding Donald Trump’s expected arraignment in Manhattan on Tuesday are a mystery, the former president’s attorney said on Sunday.
Joe Tacopina, Trump’s lawyer, explained to ABC News that the process is impossible to predict as no former president has ever been indicted.
“This is unprecedented. I don’t know. I’ve done a million arraignments in that courthouse with celebrities and whatnot. But this is a whole different thing,” Tacopina told “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“We have Secret Service involved. I understand they’re closing the courthouse for the afternoon. I just don’t know what to expect to see,” he added.
.@GStephanopoulos on arraignment: “What should we expect to see on Tuesday exactly?”
Former Pres. Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina: “This is unprecedented…I just don’t know what to expect to see.” https://t.co/ddTVFNWaSW pic.twitter.com/Ldw8GRNzyl
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 2, 2023
A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on Thursday. Because the indictment remains under seal, the exact charges Trump faces remain unclear, but reports indicate that there are around a couple of dozen charges.
Tacopina said on Sunday he was certain they “revolve around” the documentation of hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed on Thursday that his team contacted Trump’s legal counsel to coordinate about surrendering.
“What I hope is that we get in and out of there as quickly as possible, that it’s, at the end of the day, a typical arraignment where we stand before the judge, we say ‘not guilty,’ we set schedules to file motions and whatnot or discovery, and we move forward and get out there,” Tacopina said.
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The attorney said he did not know if Trump plans to hold a press conference after the arraignment, but Trump’s re-election campaign says the former president will deliver a public address from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday night.
Asked if former Pres. Trump will hold a press conference after his arraignment, attorney Joe Tacopina tells @GStephanopoulos, "We'll have to wait and see."
“I think that’s a decision he’ll make, his PR team will make and maybe even the Secret Service.” https://t.co/ddTVFNWaSW pic.twitter.com/v10UKLPCmp
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 2, 2023
Trump is months into his third campaign for president and faces multiple investigations. That includes a 2020 election investigation in Georgia and a federal inquiry focused on his handling of documents and the events surrounding January 6, 2021, led by special counsel Jack Smith.
.@GStephanopoulos: “Pres. Trump has attacked the judge…Do you believe the judge is biased?”
Former Pres. Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina: “No, I don’t believe the judge is biased. I mean the president is entitled to his own opinion.” https://t.co/ddTVFNWaSW pic.twitter.com/Uz2cyeUG4S
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 2, 2023
Trump claims he has become the victim of political “witch hunts” and recently said the presiding judge in the Manhattan case hates him.
Tacopina said he does not personally believe the judge is biased, though he acknowledged Trump is “entitled to his own opinion.”
Trump is the “victim of a political persecution,” he added.