A high-profile lawyer on Donald Trump's team has pulled out of two cases for reasons that are currently unclear. Joe Tacopina, who was representing the former president in the Manhattan hush money criminal case, withdrew from the case Monday, the Hill reports. He also pulled out of the appeal of last year's verdict against Trump in the E. Jean Carroll defamation and sexual abuse civil case. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung didn't offer a reason for the departure, but said Trump still has "the most experienced, qualified, disciplined, and overall strongest legal team ever assembled," reports the New York Times.
Trump will face a trial in the Manhattan case some time this year but the date isn't known yet, reports Reuters. Carroll's second defamation trial against Trump opens Tuesday. Trump has said he plans to testify—and he regrets listening to legal advice not to do so in the first trial. Tacopina, a former prosecutor who frequently appears on cable news as a commentator, has represented celebrity clients including Sean Hannity, rapper A$AP Rocky, and former Yankees shortstop Alex Rodriguez. "He's not a person that just phones it in; he lives it," Rodriguez tells the Times. "When he defends you, he defends you like you're family." (More Joe Tacopina stories.)
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