Trump's Lawyer Distances Himself from Former President's Online Attacks: 'I'm Not His Social Media Consultant'

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One of Donald Trump's attorneys admitted at least one of the former president's posts was "ill-advised"

Luigi Costantini/AP/Shutterstock  Joe Tacopina
Luigi Costantini/AP/Shutterstock Joe Tacopina

An attorney representing Donald Trump in an ongoing Manhattan grand jury probe into an alleged hush money payment has worked to distance himself from the former president's social media posts — some of which he called "ill-advised."

Joe Tacopina, one of Trump's defense attorneys, appeared on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, during which he was asked about Trump's recent social media posts, which have been made in response to an ongoing probe taking place in Manhattan.

In response to the probe, Trump has repeatedly taken to social media, where he has called on his supporters to "protest," and warned of "death & destruction" if he is charged. In another instance, Trump shared a post that included a photo of him holding a baseball bat seemingly aimed at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. That post has since been deleted.

Related:Donald Trump Warns of 'Death and Destruction' Ahead of Possible Indictment in N.Y.C.

"Mr. Trump has described District Attorney Alvin Bragg this week as a 'Soros-backed animal,' said he was 'doing the work of anarchists and the devil,' called him a 'degenerate psychopath,' he called him a Soros 'racist in reverse' and 'this is the Gestapo.' As his lawyer, do you stand by those comments?" Meet the Press host Chuck Todd asked Tacopina on Sunday.

After claiming that Bragg's office had been "weaponized" against Trump, Tacopina was asked again about the social media posts.

"I'm not his social media consultant," Tacopina told Todd. "I think that was an ill-advised post that one of his social media people put up, and he quickly took down when he realized the photo that was attached to it."

Todd then noted that, while the photo of Trump with the baseball bat was removed, the others remained.

"I'm not going to defend or condemn anything regarding social media," Tacopina said. "That's not what I do. I'm not a Trump PR person. I'm a litigator and a lawyer. And I'm talking about this case in Manhattan, which is a case that would not be brought for anyone other than Donald Trump."

Related:Will Donald Trump Be Arrested? Everything to Know About His Possible Indictment in Stormy Daniels Case

Brandon Bell/Getty Images Donald Trump
Brandon Bell/Getty Images Donald Trump

For law enforcement agencies, Trump's call for protests and suggestions of "death and destruction" have conjured images of Jan. 6, 2021, when the then-president called on a group of supporters to "fight like hell" and "march to the U.S. Capitol" as he continued to claim the election he lost was somehow rigged against him.

Already, law enforcement agencies in Washington, D.C. and New York have stepped up security measures in the event that Trump is charged with a crime or is at some point arraigned.

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Trump's legal issues in New York stem from an alleged sexual encounter he had with former adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2006.

In 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had arranged a $130,000 payment to the ex-porn star a month before the 2016 election so she'd keep quiet about it. Trump and his longtime (now former) attorney Michael Cohen initially denied the claims of an affair, though Cohen later admitted that there was a payment made to the porn star.

Trump has since admitted he authorized a $130,000 payment to Cohen, but has continued to deny the underlying claims that the two had an affair or that the payment was in any way connected to his campaign.

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