Donald Trump was “shocked” when he learned Thursday that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him, according to the former president’s attorney.
Joe Tacopina told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he talked to Trump, 76, after the indictment came down and that 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.
The lawyer added that Trump’s expected Tuesday arraignment is “not finalized.”
“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.
Tacopina added that he believes the reports that Trump will be charged with over 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.
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.
