Trump’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said that Trump was shocked that he was indicted, but there is zero chance that he will take a plea deal.
Video from NBC News/Today:
Tacopina said, “President Trump will not take a plea deal in this case. It’s not going to happen. There’s no crime. I don’t know if it’s going to make the trial because we have substantial legal challenges that we have to front before we get to that point.”
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Trump is worried about the political ramifications of his indictment, and since any plea deal would involve an admission of guilt, that is not going to happen.
Tacopina also described Trump as shocked by the indictment, “[Trump] initially was shocked. After he got over that, he put a notch on his belt and he decided we have to fight now… He’s now in the posture that he’s ready to fight this.”
Later the lawyer kept up the effort to connect Trump’s individual legal troubles to danger for the rest of the country, “This is a historic case, a monumental case, a case that will have wide-reaching ramifications. I feel very concerned about the rule of law in this country because it endangered the rule of law for all Americans.”
Trump has been arguing for years that he is above the law, and the law doesn’t apply to him, but less than 24 hours after being indicted, Trump’s lawyers are suddenly concerned about the rule of law.
Democrats aren’t giving Trump any fuel to claim that his indictment is political. They aren’t playing along, so the former one-term president has lapsed into his political martyr role, but times have changed. It’s 2023, not 2016 or 2020. So far, the martyr act hasn’t been generating movement from his supporters.
Even though there appears to be a mountain of evidence against him, Trump won’t take a plea deal, because he is placing politics ahead of a potential criminal conviction.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
