Donald Trump's attorneys blast indictment after arraignment
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Donald Trump’s defense attorneys claimed the criminal charges he is facing over alleged hush money payments are “disappointing,” with “no facts,” in their first comments following his Tuesday arraignment in Manhattan court.
“It’s not a good day — I don’t expect this to happen in this country,” lawyer Todd Blanche said outside the Manhattan Criminal Court after the 45-minute proceedings.
“The indictment itself is boilerplate. It’s really disappointing. It’s sad and we’ll fight it,” he continued.
Firebrand attorney Joe Tacopina doubled down on Blanche’s stance, and scoffed that the charges against Trump, 76, allege that he paid porn star Stormy Daniels to aid and abet “another crime, but [this indictment] doesn’t name another crime.”
“[The indictment] has no facts in it,” he insisted.
When pressed on Trump’s response to the charges — namely in rants on social media — Blanche said “his reaction is exactly what would happen if it happened to anyone else … he’s frustrated, he’s upset. But I’ll tell you what, he’s motivated.”
“It’s not gonna stop him,” he reiterated.
Attorney Susan Necheles also shot down questions about Trump’s comments about Judge Juan Merchan on social media.
“You may disagree with the way he spoke, but he was angry,” she said, before adjourning the press circle.
Trump was hauled into Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday to face charges related to hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal ahead of the 2016 election.
The twice-impeached president has vigorously denied any accusations of wrongdoing, and Tacopina said Trump made the payment ahead of his face-off with former first lady Hillary Clinton because he was being extorted.
Daniels claims Daniels and Trump had an affair, and Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 not to go public with the allegations ahead of the election.
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for the hush-money payments, which the Trump Organization reimbursed him for as legal expenses.
He is set to be the prosecution’s star witness.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg claims Trump’s write-off of the payments was illegal, along with a slew of other business moves involving the payments.
Follow The Post’s coverage on Trump’s indictment
Bragg’s grand jury also heard evidence about another hush-money payment made to McDougal.
The ex-model was given $150,000 to stop communicating with the National Enquirer, which was planning on publishing her allegations of an affair with Trump.
The grand jury voted to indict Trump last Thursday — marking the first time a current or former president has faced criminal charges.
He pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his arraignment Tuesday.
Trump, who is seeking a third shot at the White House, has called Bragg’s investigation a witch hunt.
His campaign says it raised at least $8 million since his indictment was handed down.
The ex-prez arrived in New York Monday via private plane and is set to jet off to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, immediately after his arraignment.
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