Source: Los Angeles Times / Getty
The current lawyer for A$AP Rocky, Joseph Tacopina, has withdrawn himself from Donald Trump’s legal team in two major upcoming cases.
On Monday (Jan. 15), Joseph Tacopina submitted a notice to the court in Manhattan, New York, overseeing the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump informing them that he was no longer going to represent Trump against adult film star Stormy Daniels. He submitted a similar notice to the judge overseeing the civil lawsuit brought against Trump by E. Jean Carroll, who said that Trump raped her in a department store.
Trump is currently appealing the guilty verdict returned against him in that case. Tacopina is currently representing A$AP Rocky in his upcoming criminal trial where he’s accused of shooting his former friend A$AP Relli in Hollywood in 2021.Tacopina has had an extensive history of representing high-profile clients including Hip-Hop artists such as Meek Mill, Foxy Brown and Sticky Fingaz of Onyx as well as going up against them in court. He earned the wrath of Cardi B during her 2019 strip club assault case by criticizing her courtroom attire, prompting her to blast him and his handling of Meek Mill’s case in deleted Instagram videos.
The barrister’s client base also includes such notable figures as Fox News host Sean Hannity, who referred to him as one of the “greatest defense attorneys of all time” as well as former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. “He’s not a person that just phones it in; he lives it,” Rodriguez said briefly when contacted by the New York Times about the bold lawyer. “When he defends you, he defends you like you’re family.”
Tacopina’s withdrawal from these cases came hours before the Republican presidential caucuses were held in Iowa, which saw Donald Trump handily defeat his opponents by a wide margin. When contacted by reporters about the moves, Tacopina declined to comment. “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,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the former president in an email response to press inquiries.
However, Cheung didn’t directly address why Tacopina left. Trump was expected to appear at Manhattan Superior Court today for proceedings, announcing the damages that E. Jean Carroll would be granted by the judge in that case.
