Trump loses attorney Joe Tacopina as porn star hush money trial looms

• Joseph Tacopina has withdrawn as a lawyer for Donald Trump in two major cases facing the former president, one of which could go to trial in two months, the attorney said.
• His withdrawal from legal matters related to the ex-president came hours before the Iowa Republican caucuses, where Trump is hoping to defeat his GOP challengers by a wide margin.
• Tacopina repped Trump in a civil lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll, who said Trump raped her in a New York store, and in a criminal case related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Joseph Tacopina has withdrawn as a lawyer for Donald Trump in two major cases facing the former president, one of which could go to trial in two months, the attorney said Monday.

Tacopina declined to comment when asked why he was no longer representing Trump.

His withdrawal from legal matters related to the ex-president came hours before the Iowa Republican caucuses, where Trump is hoping to defeat his GOP challengers by a wide margin.

"President Trump has the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled as he continues to fight for America and Americans against these partisan, Crooked Joe Biden-led election interference hoaxes," Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email when asked about Tacopina's departure.

Tacopina represented Trump in a civil lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, who said he raped her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, and defamed her in late 2022 when he denied her allegations.

A trial in that case ended with a Manhattan federal court jury finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her. The jury also ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.

Trump is appealing that