Trump Attorney Calls Out Fellow Trump Lawyer's 'Issues' in CNN Interview

Tim Parlatore, an attorney for Donald Trump, called out "issues" on Saturday with another Trump attorney, Joe Tacopina, representing the former president in the New York "hush money" case.

A Manhattan grand jury on Thursday indicted the former president in a case that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been pursuing. The former president is accused of unlawfully concealing a "hush money" payment made by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels on his behalf, in exchange for her staying silent about an affair the two allegedly had in 2006 ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has denied the affair and maintains his innocence in the case, accusing prosecutors of engaging in a politically-motivated witch hunt. Prosecutors, however, believe the payment violated campaign finance laws. Meanwhile, his legal team has stated that he's expected to surrender himself for arraignment in New York City on Tuesday. The charges against him are also expected to be unsealed at that time.

As the Manhattan case has heated up, potential issues have emerged with Tacopina, who is representing Trump in the case. According to a recent report from CNN, lawyers representing Daniels recently presented Bragg's office with a collection of exchanges between her and Tacopina dating back to 2018. While the details of what the exchanges contain are unknown, they could present a conflict of interest for Tacopina if he provided legal advice to Daniels, and could potentially see himself removed from the case.

For his part, Tacopina has denied that there is any conflict of interest and has insisted that he has not met or spoken with Daniels.

On Saturday, Parlatore, the lawyer representing Trump against allegations that he attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, appeared on CNN and touched on the "issues" surrounding Tacopina, though he declined to give a thorough comment.

"As to who's going to try the case, I know Joe has certain potential conflict issues...I'm not going to comment on Joe Tacopina," Parlatore said, stressing that it will be up to the client to decide, which is Trump.

Speaking with Newsweek in a prior article, Tacopina said that the past contacts with Daniels were done through someone speaking on her behalf, and that he refused outright to work with her.

"I neither met Stormy Daniels nor reviewed her documents. Instead, someone inquired on her behalf if I would represent her, and of course I refused the request," Tacopina said.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's communications team via email for comment.

"If Daniels did consult with Trump's lawyer, and if she did seek legal advice or provide confidential information, then there is attorney-client privilege attached and there is an actual conflict of interest," Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek in a prior statement.

"Daniels would be a witness, maybe the key witness, in a criminal case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office," Rahmani added. "Trump's lawyer would have to withdraw from representing Trump, and if he did not voluntarily do so, Daniels or prosecutors could file a motion to disqualify him."