Oops: Trump’s Lawyer Called the Stormy Daniels Hush Money Deal “Illegal” in 2018

In his capacity as Donald Trump’s attorney, Joe Tacopina has spent much of his time lately appearing on TV to defend the hush money payment Trump made to adult film star Stormy Daniels back in 2016. On Fox News, he claimed the ex-president was the victim of extortion. On MSNBC, he insisted Trump’s lies about the matter—like initially denying he was aware of the payment—weren’t lies because Trump wasn’t under oath when he uttered them. Speaking to Sean Hannity, he declared that the legal system is “completely weaponized.” One TV hit he probably doesn’t like mentioned? The one in which he called the hush money deal “illegal,” among other things.

Yes, back in 2018, years before he would be hired to represent Trump, Tacopina went on CNN and stated, for all the world to hear, that the payment was against the law, that it was potentially a “campaign finance issue,” and that the story that Michael Cohen acted in his own capacity when he paid Daniels $130,000 was total BS. “That doesn’t make sense, that a lawyer took out a home equity loan with his own money, paid somebody that he didn’t even know on behalf of a client who, by the way, had the wherewithal and the money to afford $130,000,” Tacopina said in March 2018. He added: “And, by the way, didn’t tell the client about the settlement agreement. It’s an illegal agreement. It’s a fraud, if that’s, in fact, the case.”

In a separate appearance, he reiterated that the hush money deal was “illegal.”

Several months later, Cohen pleaded guilty to, among other things, campaign finance violations, saying he did so “in coordination with and at the direction of” Trump.

It’s not clear if Trump was made aware of Tacopina’s comments before hiring him.

In related news, the former president on Monday used the looming potential indictment from the Manhattan district attorney’s office to raise money off of his supporters, who he hit up for as much as $3,300 a pop.