Joe Tacopina is No Longer Representing Donald Trump in Two Major Ongoing Legal Battles

Donald Trump faced a loss before a win as his attorney, Joe Tacopina, withdrew from two crucial cases. The 57-year-old was part of the GOP front-runner's legal team, but he confirmed on Monday, January 15, 2024, that he'd no longer represent Trump in the Hush-Money case and the journalist E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit. 

As Tacopina declined to explain further, the reason for his departure remained unclear. His decision to leave Trump comes a day before the twice-impeached president is set to go on trial in Caroll's defamation lawsuit. Previously, the journalist won a $5 million case against him; it's the second time she's dragged him to the court, per The Hill. 

However, it is worth noting that Tacopina is not a counsel in these cases but represented Trump in his appeal in the Caroll case. His announcement also came a day before the Iowa caucus, where the ex-president has maintained a dominance on several national polls, beating his Republican nominees, including Joe Biden.

The lawyer sent a notice seeking his and his legal firm's withdrawal from Trump's cases. A former president's spokesperson, Steven Cheung, stated, "President Trump has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled as he continues to fight for America and Americans against these partisan, Crooked Joe Biden-led election interference hoaxes." 

Aside from Trump, Tacopina's legal profile has an influential clientele, including rapper Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, former Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez, and Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle. However, he's infamous for betraying his clients. A disgraced former New York City police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, accused him of "unethical behavior" and "malpractice." 

Meanwhile, Trump's legal team is shrinking by the day as he's drawing close to trial in 91 felony charges across four indictments, including the 2020 Election Interference Case, scheduled to go on trial in March 2024, and also the Hush-Money Case concerning payments made to adult-star Stormy Daniels also likely to begin in the same month. 

During the closing argument in Caroll's case, Tacopina argued the jury is entitled to have a personal opinion about Trump, but this case is aimed to harm his political career. "It's OK however you feel about him," said the lawyer. "I said this before. You could hate Donald Trump. It's OK. But there is a time and a secret place to do that. It's called a ballot box during an election. It's not here," per The New York Times. 

In his court filing, Tacopina requested, "I respectfully submit this Declaration in support of [Tacopina Seigel and DeOreo's] motion, made under Local Civil Rule 27.1, to withdraw as counsel (including TSD attorneys Joseph Tacopina, Chad D. Seigel, and Matthew G. DeOreo) for Trump, with such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper." 

Tacopina is among the other three members of Trump's legal team who have stopped representing him.