Joe Tacopina, former President Donald Trump’s attorney, said over the weekend that the president’s claims that he would be arrested Tuesday last week were based on leaks that NBC News had previously reported.
Tacopina made the remarks on NBC News’s “Meet The Press” when pressed by Chuck Todd on the matter.
“No, he didn’t make it up, he was reacting towards a lot of leaks coming out of the district attorney’s office,” Tacopina said. “There had been a leak, Chuck, that Monday, the day before that Tuesday, there was a law enforcement meeting, including Secret Service and NYPD, that was going to go through the logistics of the arraignment. And then there was, of course, a lot of rumors regarding the arraignment being the next day. So he just, I think he just assumed based on those leaks that that’s what was going to happen”
A spokesperson for Trump said several hours after Trump’s claim that they had received no notification that the president would be arrested.
“So it wasn’t about making it up, and certainly he doesn’t want to be arrested,” Tacopina added.
When asked if Trump’s team has been contacted about any “special arrangements” by the D.A.’s office, Tacopina said, “No, not through us.”
“I mean, we’ve been in touch with the district attorney’s office regarding potential logistics of an arraignment, if it gets to that point,” he said. “But certainly it didn’t come from us.”
TRANSCRIPT:
CHUCK TODD: Joining me now is Donald Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, who represents him in the New York case. Mr. Tacopina, welcome to Meet the Press.
JOE TACOPINA: Thanks, Chuck. Good morning.
CHUCK TODD: Good morning. Let me start with a simple question. Why did your client, Mr. Trump, make that claim that turned out not to be true? Did he make it up?
JOE TACOPINA: No, he didn’t make it up, he was reacting towards a lot of leaks coming out of the district attorney’s office. There had been a leak, Chuck, that Monday, the day before that Tuesday, there was a law enforcement meeting, including Secret Service and NYPD, that was going to go through the logistics of the arraignment. And then there was, of course, a lot of rumors regarding the arraignment being the next day. So he just, I think he just assumed based on those leaks that that’s what was going to happen.
CHUCK TODD: Has anybody in the –
JOE TACOPINA: So it wasn’t about making it up, and certainly he doesn’t want to be arrested.
CHUCK TODD: Has anybody in the DA’s office contacted you, or told you about special arrangements? Did he have any of this knowledge through you?
JOE TACOPINA: No, not through us. I mean, we’ve been in touch with the district attorney’s office regarding potential logistics of an arraignment, if it gets to that point. But certainly it didn’t come from us.