Attorneys for former President Donald Trump schooled CNNâs Shimon Prokupecz, a left-wing activist masquerading as a âjournalist,â during a press scrum following Trumps arraignment Tuesday in New York.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche began by slamming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for weaponizing the judicial system to prosecute the 45th president.
âThe district attorney has turned what is actually a completely political issue into a political prosecution. ⌠I donât expect this to happen,â he told reporters.
Blanche is a former federal prosecutor who recently left a partner position at one of the most elite white-collar law firms in the world, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, to join the Trump defense team.
He expressed shock at the weak case against Trump.
The former president is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Under New York state law, that is a misdemeanor unless it is done to conceal a crime â but Braggâs indictment doesnât say what the alleged crime is.
âThe indictment itself is boilerplate,â Blanche said. âIt doesnât allege any federal crime, any state crime, that has been violated. It doesnât allege what the false statement is.â
Predictably, Prokupecz, CNNâs senior crime and justice correspondent, didnât want to ask about the merits of the case.
Instead, he focused on Trumpâs social media posts spotlighting the disturbing conflicts of interest concerning presiding Judge Juan Merchan â a Democratic donor who contributed to Joe Bidenâs 2020 presidential campaign â and Bragg, who in 2021 campaigned for his current job by promising to hold Trump âaccountable.â
In posts on his Truth Social platform, the former president expressed disgust at being targeted by âCorrupt D.A.â Bragg and said a change of venue would be needed for him to get a fair trial.
Trump criminal defense attorney Joe Tacopina reminded the CNN reporter of the legal teamâs role.
âSo once again, weâre three lawyers here to litigate and fight this case,â Tacopina told Prokupecz. âWeâre not PR consultants. Weâre not social media consultants. âŚ
âWe are here to talk about the case and litigate cases. We canât address what he posted or what he wants to post.â
In typical CNN fashion, Prokupecz once again missed the forest for the trees by asking: âBut as his attorneys, have you told him, âStop posting this rhetoricâ?â
Tacopina pointed out that because of attorney-client privilege, he cannot reveal what he discusses with his client. This is something that any professional â or even amateur â journalist would know.
âLiterally, we canât tell you what weâve discussed,â he said.
Prokupecz underscored that he doesnât understand the basic concept of attorney-client privilege by saying, âAre you concerned that heâs continuing to go after the judge, talking about the judgeâs wife, talking about the family?â
Tacopino retorted: âI donât think the judge was concerned about it.â
On Tuesday, Trump railed against the politically motivated prosecution by saying during a speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
âI have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden Harris campaign â and a lot of it,â he said.
Prokupecz stammered: âBut any other defendant, wouldnât you be like âŚâ
Tacopino shut down the CNN activist, interjecting: âAny other defendant wouldnât be here today.â
Trump defense attorney Susan Necheles pointed out that the former president is merely expressing his justifiable anger over conflicts of interest in the case against him.
âHe is not going after the judge,â she said. âHe commented that he thought that there were some issues that may cause a conflict. Thatâs not going after the judge. He is not threatening the judge.â
âHe is angry because the DA has brought a case that is unjustified,â Necheles said.
In other words, anyone who legitimately feels the charges against him are contrived and weak would understandably be upset.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.