Trump’s Lawyer Calls Posts Targeting Manhattan D.A. ‘Ill Advised’

Topline

A lawyer for former President Donald Trump called his client’s social media posts last week targeting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “ill advised” on Sunday, days after Bragg was sent a mysterious white powder, as New York prosecutors appear close to wrapping up a criminal investigation into Trump.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg participates in a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. … [+] 7, 2023.

Key Facts

In an interview on NBC’s Meet The Press, attorney Joe Tacopina said a post on Trump’s Truth Social app showing the former president holding a baseball bat next to a photo of Bragg was shared by “one of his social media people,” and added that Trump “quickly” deleted it “once he realized the rhetoric and the photo attached to it.”

Several other posts referring to Bragg by name remain on Trump’s account, including one calling Bragg “a danger to our Country” and another saying Bragg “is doing the work of Anarchists and the Devil,” as well as a post calling Bragg—who is Black—a “Soros backed animal,” which many critics have condemned as racist and antisemitic.

Tacopina told NBC “I’m not his social media consultant” and said he’s not going to “defend or condemn anything regarding social media.”

Tacopina denied that Trump’s social media rhetoric created violence during the January 6 insurrection, saying “I think violence was on the way that day.”

Key Background

Trump could face criminal charges from Bragg’s office over a scheme to make hush money payments to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, which prosecutors may argue involved campaign finance violations and business record falsification. Ahead of a potential indictment by a New York-based grand jury, Trump called for protests last weekend and said there would be “death and destruction” if he were to be arrested. While a small number of protesters have physically shown up to the courthouse, an envelope containing suspicious white powder was discovered on Friday at the district attorney’s office. The powder was accompanied by a letter that reportedly read “ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!” A bomb threat was called into a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday as hearings over a separate lawsuit involving Trump were supposed to begin, though it’s unclear if the threat was related to Trump. Meanwhile, some Trump allies have excoriated Bragg’s office in recent days: A trio of House Republicans demanded that Bragg testify before Congress, a request Bragg denied.

Tangent

At a rally for his 2024 presidential campaign on Saturday, Trump did not refer to Bragg by name or call for protests, though his potential indictment was the clear focus of his speech.

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