Activist CNN Reporter Gets Totally Schooled by Trump's Lawyers Just After Arraignment
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump schooled CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, a left-wing activist masquerading as a “journalist,” 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.
“The district attorney has turned what is actually a completely political issue into a political prosecution. … I don’t expect this to happen,” 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 — but Bragg’s indictment doesn’t say what the alleged crime is.
“The indictment itself is boilerplate,” Blanche said. “It doesn’t allege any federal crime, any state crime, that has been violated. It doesn’t allege what the false statement is.”
Predictably, Prokupecz, CNN’s senior crime and justice correspondent, didn’t want to ask about the merits of the case.
Instead, he focused on Trump’s social media posts spotlighting the disturbing conflicts of interest concerning presiding Judge Juan Merchan — a Democratic donor who contributed to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign — and Bragg, who in 2021 campaigned for his current job by promising to hold Trump “accountable.”
In posts on his Truth Social platform, the former president expressed disgust at being targeted by “Corrupt D.A.” 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 team’s role.
“So once again, we’re three lawyers here to litigate and fight this case,” Tacopina told Prokupecz. “We’re not PR consultants. We’re not social media consultants. …
“We are here to talk about the case and litigate cases. We can’t address what he posted or what he wants to post.”
In typical CNN fashion, Prokupecz once again missed the forest for the trees by asking: “But as his attorneys, have you told him, ‘Stop posting this rhetoric’?”
Tacopina pointed out that because of attorney-client privilege, he cannot reveal what he discusses with his client. This is something that any professional — or even amateur — journalist would know.
“Literally, we can’t tell you what we’ve discussed,” he said.
Prokupecz underscored that he doesn’t understand the basic concept of attorney-client privilege by saying, “Are you concerned that he’s continuing to go after the judge, talking about the judge’s wife, talking about the family?”
Tacopino retorted: “I don’t think the judge was concerned about it.”
On Tuesday, Trump railed against the politically motivated prosecution by saying during a speech at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
“I 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 — and a lot of it,” he said.
Seems relevant… yet another connection in this hand picked democrat show trial. The BS never ends folks.
Daughter of Judge on Trump Case Worked on Biden-Harris Campaign https://t.co/5FtA7K9732
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 4, 2023
Prokupecz stammered: “But any other defendant, wouldn’t you be like …”
Tacopino shut down the CNN activist, interjecting: “Any other defendant wouldn’t be here today.”
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.
“He is not going after the judge,” she said. “He commented that he thought that there were some issues that may cause a conflict. That’s not going after the judge. He is not threatening the judge.”
“He is angry because the DA has brought a case that is unjustified,” Necheles said.
In other words, anyone who legitimately feels the charges against him are contrived and weak would understandably be upset.
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