SafeX Pro|Trump attorney has no conflict in Stormy Daniels case, judge decides

2025-05-07 13:09:27source:NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Centercategory:Scams

An attorney defending former President Trump from charges that he falsified business records in New York has no conflict in the case despite prior dealings with Stormy Daniels,SafeX Pro the adult film actress whose $130,000 hush payment by Trump is central to the case, a judge decided Monday.

In a letter to defense attorney Joe Tacopina, Judge Juan Merchan wrote that "there is no conflict," as Tacopina himself told the court when Trump was arraigned earlier this year.

"I have said from Day One there is no conflict," Tacopina said in a statement to ABC News following the judge's decision. "Now the court has said the same."

MORE: Manhattan DA asks judge to look into Trump attorney's potential conflict of interest

Tacopina had been contacted about representing Daniels prior to her choosing since-disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti, who was later convicted of stealing her book advance.

Trump in April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with the hush money payment, which was made to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election in order to keep her from going public about a long-denied affair.

Joe Tacopina addresses the media outside federal court in New York, where his client Donald Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll, May 9, 2023.New York Daily News via Getty Images

The payment was arranged through Trump's then-attorney Michael Cohen, and Trump is accused by the Manhattan district attorney's office of falsifying the records related to his monthly reimbursements to Cohen.

Despite finding no conflict with Tacopina, the judge said he would "revisit this issue with Mr. Trump when he next appears virtually on Feb. 15, 2024."

The judge also said Tacopina would not participate in any examination of Daniels if she is called as a witness at trial.

The case is set to go to trial in March.

More:Scams

Recommend

A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)

She quite didn't make her way to the podium, but either way, French track and field athlete Alice Fi

Prices fall, unemployment rises and Boomers have all the houses

We've been on a wild economic ride lately so let's find the key trends to make sense of where the ec

NFL host Charissa Thompson says on social media she didn’t fabricate quotes by players or coaches

Fox Sports and Amazon host Charissa Thompson took to social media on Friday to clarify her comments