- A lawyer for Stormy Daniels said he gave the Manhattan DA communications between her and Trump’s attorney.
- The revelation comes amid a probe into allegations that Trump was involved in a hush money scheme.
- The exchanges could limit the role Trump’s current attorney could play in a future possible trial.
An attorney for adult film actress Stormy Daniels gave the Manhattan DA communications between his client and former President Donald Trump’s current attorney dating back to 2018, CNN reported Tuesday, possibly spelling trouble for the Trump legal team ahead of a possible indictment for the 2024 candidate.
Daniels’ attorney Clark Brewster told the outlet the email exchanges come from when Daniels was looking for a lawyer five years ago.
The communications reportedly include information about Daniels’ then situation, which Brewster said contains confidential information she disclosed to Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina.
In an interview with Insider Tuesday, Tacopina denied ever speaking with Daniels. He said Daniels reached out to his office, saying she was looking for representation for “some nondisclosure agreement regarding Trump and a settlement and whatnot.” When a paralegal in his office brought it up with him, he declined to take the case, he told Insider.
“It’s a joke,” Tacopina said. “I have no attorney-client privilege with her. I didn’t represent her. I never met her, never spoke to her.”
Even if Tacopina didn’t take on Daniels as a client at the time, New York Bar rules outline certain obligations that attorneys have for prospective clients. A judge may disqualify Tacopina from the case if they find that Daniels shared confidential information with him, according to Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at New York University law school.
“If Daniels shared confidential information with Tacopina, he may be personally disqualified,” Gillers told Insider. “The scope of the disqualification can be from the entire case or from cross-examining her.”
Tacopina told Insider that the communication from Daniels didn’t rise to a level that would raise a conflict.
“Had I met with her, sat down with her, taken the case, or even just learned things that I could subsequently use against her — that’s one thing,” Tacopina said. “That wasn’t the case here. Because I’d never met with her. I never spoke to her. I never reviewed any documents she had.”
Tacopina is defending Trump in an ongoing case stemming from accusations that the former president was involved in a hush money payout to Daniels during his first campaign. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys maintain that he was the victim of extortion.
A Manhattan grand jury may decide to bring an indictment as soon as Wednesday. It’s reportedly scheduled to hear from another witness on Wednesday before receiving instructions on bringing charges.
Brewster didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. He told CNN that he handed over the communications between Daniels and Tacopina following what he said were contradicting comments from the Trump lawyer about his firm’s emails with Daniels.
