Trump attorney says indictment is ‘political persecution’

Joe Tacopina, an attorney for Donald Trump, said Sunday that the indictment against the former president and 2024 White House hopeful would not have happened if it were not for his political stature.

Mr. Trump is to be arraigned Tuesday after a New York City grand jury indicted him on business finance charges related to an alleged hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to hide an extramarital affair.

“This is a case of political persecution,” Mr. Tacopina said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Had he not been running for office right now — which by the way, polls have shown since this has been announced his numbers have gone up significantly — he would not have been indicted.”

Mr. Tacopina said the Trump team will not move to dismiss the case at Tuesday’s arraignment because such action that early would be “showmanship,” but he added that they plan to do so at a later date.

He also said they will not ask for a different judge, despite criticism and claims from Mr. Trump that Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan is biased against him.

“My client has a right to have an issue with everything. He’s been politically persecuted. Make no mistake about that,” Mr. Tacopina said. “Whether you sit on the right or the left, or you’re a supporter or detractor of Donald Trump, this should really bother you. This should really shake the core of what we believe our justice system should be about. It should not be weaponized to go after political opponents. That’s what is happening here.”