January 15th, former US President Trump’s legal team said on Monday that Joseph Tacopina has withdrawn from his role as a lawyer in two major cases that Trump is facing, one of which will be within two months. A court hearing will follow.
Tacopina declined to comment when asked why he would no longer represent Trump in the trial.
On the same day, Trump attended the US Republican Caucus in Iowa. He hoped to defeat his Republican challenger with a large advantage in this party primary meeting. Hours before the meeting, Tacopina announced it was withdrawing from legal matters involving the former president.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email responding to Tacopina's departure: "President Trump has the most experienced, qualified, and disciplined people in history. , the strongest legal team, he continues to fight for the United States and the American people against these partisan, dishonest election interference shenanigans led by now-President Biden."
Tacopina lawyer in American female writer E. Jean Representing Trump in a civil lawsuit filed by Carroll, who accused Trump of raping her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s and defaming her after denying her accusations in late 2022 .
The trial ended with a Manhattan federal court jury finding Trump responsible for Carroll's sexual assault and defamation. The jury also ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.
Trump is appealing the ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
On Monday, Tacopina filed a notice with the appeals court stating that his law firm was withdrawing from the case.
Carroll's trial in a second similar defamation lawsuit filed against Trump is set to begin Tuesday in Manhattan federal court over comments he made about her while he was president. Tacopina is not representing the former president in the case.
Also on Monday, Tacopina filed a notice of withdrawal from the Manhattan Supreme Court case. In the Manhattan Supreme Court case, Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump's then-personal attorney Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about her claims of a sexual relationship with Trump years earlier.
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels, but he reimbursed Cohen for the payment and other related expenses, which the Trump Organization recorded as legal expenses.
Trump has entered a not guilty plea in the case, which is tentatively scheduled to go to trial in March.
Trump also faces three other pending criminal cases, in which he has entered not guilty pleas.
First, in federal court in Washington, D.C., Trump was charged with crimes related to his attempts to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden and his incitement of supporters January 6, 2021 Go to the Capitol and cause a riot.
In a second incident, Trump faces racketeering charges in state court in Atlanta related to his efforts to overturn Biden's 2020 election win in Georgia.
In a third case, he was also charged in federal court in Florida with crimes related to his retention of classified government documents after leaving the White House in January 2021 and preventing officials from recovering those documents.
Last week, Manhattan Supreme Court heard closing arguments in Trump’s major commercial fraud civil trial. New York State Attorney General Letitia James asked the court to award Trump US$370 million (approximately US$2.66 billion). , and banned him for life from the real estate business in the state.
