Trump Lawyer Antagonizes Judge Kaplan Presiding over EJ Carroll Case

Donald J. Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina appears to be an amateur. His continues antagonization of Judge Kaplan just days before the start of EJ Carroll’s civil rape and defamation case begins.

Former, twice impeached, defeated, and criminally indicted Donald J. Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina, one of the attorneys representing him in the EJ Carroll civil rape and defamation lawsuit set to begin on April 25, 2023, was admonished by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday after he submitted a letter to the court asking questions about an anonymous jury.

Tacopina requested details about selecting an anonymous jury and argued that he should be allowed to observe "all stages" of the selection process.

Kaplan took Tacopina to task for missing a meeting where jury selection was discussed.

"I take what I understand to be material inaccuracies in Mr. Tacopina's letter to be misunderstandings attributable to the fact that Mr. Tacopina was not present at the meeting attended by the Deputy Clerk, Mr. Mohan, and other counsel," Kaplan wrote and went on in his response to Tacopina’s letter writing…"The Court nevertheless provides the following information concerning the proceedings on Tuesday."

Kaplan went in his letter of response to detail the selection process.

"This is identical in substance to the manner in which juries were selected in this Court during the COVID pandemic," the judge explained. "Counsel for both sides have been requested to submit proposed voir dire questions, and both have done so. The Court naturally is taking those requests into account in formulating its examination of prospective jurors."

Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina continues to annoy and antagonize Judge Kaplan at what seems like every opportunity.