前总统唐纳德·特朗普周一失去了一名经验丰富的辩护律师。
乔·塔科皮纳告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我退出了所有事项。”
塔科皮纳陪同特朗普当前总统不服罪去年4月，他在纽约州被指控伪造向成人电影女演员斯托米·丹尼尔斯支付封口费的商业记录。
曼哈顿检察官办公室的检察官指控称，特朗普在2016年总统竞选期间参与了一项“计划”，通过他人向封口费支付一系列款项来帮助他的竞选活动，然后“多次以欺诈方式”伪造的纽约商业记录“隐瞒犯罪行为。特朗普否认了所有不当行为。
塔科皮纳在给负责此案的法官胡安·默沙东的一封信中写道:“我谨通知法庭，我和我的公司查德·塞格尔在此退出本次诉讼中担任被告唐纳德·j·特朗普的律师。”
苏珊·内切莱斯是特朗普在该案中的首席律师。律师托德·布兰奇也出席了4月的提审。
2023年4月4日，美国前总统唐纳德·特朗普在纽约市曼哈顿刑事法院接受传讯时，与他的律师乔·塔科皮纳和鲍里斯·埃普希廷坐在法庭内。
安德鲁·凯利-普尔/盖蒂图片社
塔科皮纳还在《Elle》杂志前专栏作家E. Jean Carroll提起的民事诽谤和殴打案中代表特朗普被认定负有责任并判令向卡罗尔支付500万美元的赔偿金。
塔科皮纳将不再处理特朗普对该判决的上诉。
律师阿琳娜·哈巴和她的搭档迈克尔·马迪奥在卡罗尔律师事务所代表特朗普该案中其他诉讼该案定于周二在曼哈顿联邦法院开庭审理。
塔科皮纳是特朗普法律团队中最有成就的出庭律师之一，拥有长期的刑事案件胜利史。他的客户包括前棒球明星A·罗德里格兹、福克斯新闻频道主持人肖恩·哈尼蒂和说唱歌手A$AP Rocky。
他拒绝就退出担任特朗普律师一事发表进一步评论。
Attorney Joe Tacopina withdraws from Trump's legal team
Former President Donald Trump on Monday lost an experienced defense attorney from his legal roster.
Joe Tacopina told ABC News, "I withdrew on all matters."
Tacopina accompanied Trump when the former presidentpleaded not guiltyin New York last April to charges that he falsified business records stemming from his hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan DA's office allege that Trump engaged in a "scheme" to boost his election chances during the 2016 presidential race through a series of hush money payments made by others to help his campaign, and then "repeatedly and fraudulentlyfalsified New York business records" to conceal that criminal conduct. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
In a letter to Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the case, Tacopina wrote, "I write to respectfully inform the Court that my firm, Chad Seigel and I hereby withdraw as counsel for Defendant Donald J. Trump in this proceeding,"
Susan Necheles is Trump's lead counsel in the case. Attorney Todd Blanche also appeared at April's arraignment.
Tacopina also represented Trump in the civil defamation and battery case brought by former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, in which Trump wasfound liableand ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.
Tacopina will no longer handle Trump's appeal of that verdict.
Attorney Alina Habba and her partner Michael Maddaio are representing Trump in Carroll'sother lawsuit in that case, which is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.
Tacopina was one of the most accomplished trial lawyers on Trump’s legal team, with a long history of criminal case victories. His client list has included former baseball star Alex Rodriguez, Fox News host Sean Hannity and rapper A$AP Rocky.
He declined to comment further on his withdrawal as Trump's attorney.
