Joseph Tacopina, an attorney for Donald Trump, seemed to undercut the former president on Sunday by noting that the judge presiding over an upcoming arraignment did not appear to be biased.
During an interview on CNN, host Dana Bash noted that Trump had attacked Judge Juan Merchan as biased following the news that he would be indicted this week.
"The former president, your client, was lashing out against him," Bash said. "And the former president said that the judge hates him and was handpicked by the DA for this case for that reason. Are you going to ask for a different judge?"
"We are going to take the indictment, evaluate all our legal options, and pursue everyone most vigorously," Tacopina stated. "This is a case of political persecution."
"But let's talk about the judge," Bash pressed. "Will you ask for a different judge?"
"You know, I have no issue with this judge whatsoever," the attorney replied.
"Your client does," Bash observed.
"Well, my client has a right to have an issue with everything," Tacopina snapped. "He's been politically persecuted. Make no mistake about that, Dana."
"So you don't believe this judge is biased?" Bash asked.
"I have no reason to believe this judge is biased," the attorney stated. "I've not been before him on this matter. So we have to let this process play out."
Watch the video below from CNN.
