WASHINGTON: Donald Trump´s lawyers came out swinging on Sunday, lambasting the former president´s indictment as “political persecution” ahead of his court appearance next week.
Attorney Joe Tacopina dismissed the anticipated charges against Trump -- related to a hush-money payment to an adult film star in 2016 -- as “some twilight zone sort of scenario” in an “upside down world.”
“This is a case of political persecution,” he said on CNN. Tacopina also blasted likely key witness Michael Cohen, the former Trump lawyer who was jailed on related charges and turned against his former boss, as “a pathological, convicted liar.”
Trump´s arraignment on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court will make history as the first time a president or former president has faced criminal charges. But the indictment remains under seal, and even the circumstances of Trump´s appearance in New York remain unclear.
Tacopina did say that he does not expect to move for an immediate dismissal, saying the Trump team has yet to be able to study the exact charges. But another Trump attorney, James Trusty, told “Fox News Sunday” that based on “what we´re guessing the indictment will look like, it will have legal frailties that will be subjected to a legitimate motion to dismiss early on.”
As to the proceedings in Manhattan on Tuesday, where police and law enforcement agencies are gearing up for protests and counter-protests, little is yet known. “I honestly don´t know how this is going to go -- hopefully, smoothly as possible,” Tacopina said. He added that he expected to learn more on Monday.
The Trump lawyer said he did not expect his client to be forced to do a “perp walk” -- walking, handcuffed, before news cameras -- noting that the former president will be under Secret Service protection.
“Hopefully, this will be as painless and classy as possible,” he said.Trump announced on Sunday he would speak in Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday evening following his historic indictment on criminal charges.
Due to appear in court on Tuesday in New York to face charges over a hush-money payment to an adult film star in 2016, the ex-leader said in a statement that he would deliver remarks in Palm Beach at 8:15 pm (0015 GMT).
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has denounced his indictment as an abuse befitting a banana republic, but the move in fact puts the United States in line with fellow advanced democracies that have prosecuted former leaders.
France, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Romania and Croatia are among countries where courts have convicted a former president or prime minister, with charges pursued against former top leaders in a number of other democracies including Germany, Japan and Portugal.
For the United States, there is no precedent in the republic´s nearly 250-year history -- Trump is the first president, current or former, to be charged with a crime.