Trump lawyer says ‘he received’t be collaborating’ in Manhattan DA’s probe

Former President Trump is formally declining to supply testimony in Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg’s probe into the hush-money fee to grownup performer Stormy Daniels made earlier than the 2016 election.

“He received’t be collaborating in that continuing — a continuing that we and most election legislation specialists consider is with completely no authorized advantage,” Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina wrote in a letter despatched on Monday to the New York Metropolis Division of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber.

Tacopina had told ABC’s “Good Morning America” anchor George Stephanopoulos earlier within the day that the Manhattan DA’s probe is “outrageous,” saying that the October 2016 fee to Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump in 2006, was not “straight associated” to the presidential marketing campaign.

The Trump lawyer had confirmed on Thursday that Bragg had provided the previous president a chance to testify earlier than a grand jury, a sign that the district lawyer may very well be nearing a choice on expenses within the investigation, which might symbolize the primary legal indictment of a former U.S. president.

The probe facilities round a $130,000 fee that Trump’s former private lawyer, Michael Cohen, made to Daniels. Cohen says that Trump later reimbursed him in month-to-month installments and erroneously recorded them as a authorized retainer payment.

Cohen later pleaded responsible to a number of expenses, served a 12 months in jail and has since been cooperating with prosecutors, together with appearing before Bragg’s grand jury on Monday.

Tacopina advised Stephanopoulos on Monday, “I count on justice to prevail, and if that’s the case, George, there shouldn’t be an indictment.”

“This case is outrageous, actually,” he added. “There needs to be a wholesome dose of disgust from the bar, the authorized group, prosecutors, protection legal professionals alike. It’s not what we do. This isn’t what we do. We’re distorting legal guidelines to bag President Trump.”

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