Donald Trump’s lawyers are meeting with the former president in Florida this weekend about how to handle the latest development in the Manhattan investigation focused on secret money payments during the 2016 campaign.
Joe Tacopina, one of Trump’s attorneys, told NBC News on Friday that Trump’s attorneys have no plans to meet with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which convened a grand jury to investigate payments to actress Stormy Daniels. Is. Slept with Trump before becoming President.
NBC News reported on Thursday that Trump had been invited to testify before the grand jury. Trump’s lawyers have not said whether he will accept the invitation, and the district attorney’s office declined to comment on the matter.
Tacopina said on Friday, “We are not convinced that they will bring a case, but if they do, we will deal with it.”
Trump, who launched his 2024 presidential bid in November, said in a lengthy statement on his Truth Social site Thursday night that he had done “absolutely nothing wrong” and suggested the investigation was politically motivated. He has repeatedly denied having an affair with Daniels.
Meanwhile, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to making illegal payments to Daniels, met with prosecutors on Friday for more than seven hours. The meeting was Cohen’s 20th with him, in preparation for a grand jury appearance Monday afternoon.
Cohen has said that he secretly paid money to Daniels on Trump’s orders, and that the payments were for the “prime purpose of influencing” the 2016 presidential election.
The hush-money investigation is one of several investigations centered around Trump.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is overseeing the Justice Department’s investigation into the January 6 riots and the criminal investigation into possible mishandling of classified documents by Trump.
In Fulton County, Georgia, a special grand jury recently wrapped its examination of whether Trump and his associates tried to interfere with the state’s 2020 election results. The jury’s forerunner said last month that jurors have recommended indictment of more than a dozen people, whose names have not been made public.
