‘There will be no stagnation at Mar-a-Lago’
NEW YORK – Former President Donald Trump won’t rule out surrendering if the Manhattan district attorney indicts him criminally, his lawyer told the Daily News on Friday.
“There will be no standoff at Mar-a-Lago with the Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” Joe Tacopina said.
DA Alvin Bragg is believed to be nearing a charging decision in his office’s long-running investigation into Trump and his business dealings.
If Trump is indicted, he must surrender to New York authorities and appear in court to plead guilty. A judge could theoretically agree to conduct hearings remotely, but no criminal defendants are currently being sentenced in practice, according to Lucian Chalfen from the Office of Court Administration.
DA staff met with members of the NYPD’s intelligence bureau Thursday in a preliminary meeting to address security concerns ahead of possible charges, according to a source with direct knowledge of the meeting who asked to remain anonymous.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for information about security preparations. Manhattan DA spokeswoman Emily Tuttle declined to comment.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, and it’s not known whether the panel impaneled in January will vote to indict Trump. If it does, it will be the first criminal case against a former president in US history.
Sources connected to the nearly four-year-old investigation say Bragg is considering indicting Trump for crimes related to how he and his business classified paychecks to his former fixer, Michael Cohen, to pay Daniels quietly and cover up payments to hide the money. Second offense.
On Wednesday, Cohen testified before a grand jury hearing evidence in the investigation. He said each of the appointed jurors asked him a question and added that he was “certain” he provided the most comprehensive account of the 2016 hush money deal with Daniels, for which he served time in federal prison.
“I am relieved that my role is over now, for now. I have complied with the request made to me by the District Attorney’s Office,” Cohen said.
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels and recently described himself as a victim of extortion in hush money, which Daniels denies.
Earlier this week, Tacopina said Trump would not take up the DA’s office with an invitation to testify, a courtesy call that fueled speculation the investigation was winding down.
On Friday, Tacopina said Trump, who is running for the White House for a third term, will find a way to use the potential criminal charges to his advantage.
“Most people would collapse under the weight of it,” Tacopina told The News. “He seems to turn everything into a positive and everything into a boost for his campaign, so I’m sure it’s just going to add to the long list of things that people think nobody can overcome, but he will.”
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#stagnation #MaraLago
