Donald Trump was “shocked” when he learned that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him, according to his attorney, who revealed the former president will face 34 counts when he’s arraigned on Tuesday.
Joe Tacopina told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he talked to Trump, 76, after the indictment came down, saying they both learned about it through media reports and not from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
“He’s ready to fight. You know, he’s the toughest guy I know. He was shocked, you know, because we really weren’t – I was shocked,” Tacopina said of Trump’s reaction to the indictment.
“I’ve never been more angry about a charge because today, the rule of law in the United States of America died. It’s dead. It’s dead,” Tacopina said.
Tacopina added that he believes the reports that Trump will be charged with more than 30 counts of business fraud.
“We now heard 34 counts, and I guarantee you it’s going to be 34 counts when we find out next week,” he said.
“They’ll take each check and make that a count, perhaps, and that’s how they’ll do it because the checks are paid to Cohen,” he explained.
The lawyer added that Trump’s expected arraignment on Tuesday is “not finalised”.
“We are discussing with them, you know, obviously, there’s a group called the Secret Service that’s involved now. I mean, this is going to be something we’ve never seen the likes of,” Tacopina said.
When asked if Trump will be handcuffed next week, Tacopina responded, “No.”
“This will backfire. Because we’re gonna win this case. We will humiliate them, and they will pay the price,” Tacopina added.
This story was originally published by the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
