In an interview on MSNBC after departing Donald Trump’s legal team ahead of a second civil trial covering allegations from writer E. Jean Carroll, attorney Joe Tacopina predicted that former President Donald Trump “absolutely” could get convicted amid criminal proceedings that he’s facing, singling out the two federal criminal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith at the Justice Department.
Smith’s cases deal with Trump’s attempts to stay in power after the last presidential election despite losing and his handling of classified documents from his time in office, a cache of which was recovered from the former president’s southern Florida resort Mar-a-Lago.
“Oh is it possible? Absolutely,” Tacopina remarked of the conviction possibility, adding: “Jack Smith is a federal prosecutor who I knew from his days in Brooklyn. They’re serious prosecutors. […] Do I think there’s a political bent to some of this — the way this was gone about? Yes I do. Do I think these cases are invalid cases? Look, a grand jury voted to indict, and he’s going to have to face a jury in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Georgia, and New York City.” Tacopina noted that most of those locales aren’t known for being in Trump’s corner politically, which could have some impact on the composition and decision-making of eventual trial juries.
At present, this trial covering Carroll’s claims is moving towards a new jury decision on fresh financial penalties proposed against Trump for allegations from the writer of defamation. Her claims stem from Trump’s antagonistic responses to Carroll’s account of the ex-president sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, an allegation already covered by another (also civil) trial. Also approaching its end is the trial stage of a case from New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who alleged a years-long pattern of fraud at the Trump family business consisting of misrepresentations of the value of various assets that positioned the Trumps for better financial arrangements like more favorable loan terms.
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