That boast is about to be put to the test, as Trump and his defense team decide in the coming days whether to present him as a witness.
But among legal experts and even Trump’s political allies, there’s already a unanimous verdict: He would be a fool to testify.
His Republican backers say the New York trial is a sham and prosecutors haven’t proven their case — so why bother? Former prosecutors say he would open himself up to all sorts of damaging questions, from whether he had sex with porn star Stormy Daniels to alleged fraudulent business practices and inquiries about his honesty that could be political and legal landmines.
And several pointed to the simple fact that he’s Donald Trump.
“He’s somebody who’s not controlled, who is going to be all over the place,” said Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor and legal analyst.
As Trump’s historic criminal trial winds down, with closing arguments delivered as soon as next week, one of the biggest questions remaining (besides the jury’s verdict) is whether the former president will take the stand in his own defense. While there may be some political benefits to Trump testifying, including boasting to his supporters that he wasn’t afraid to tell his side of the story, the legal risks, many say, are too high.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a former attorney and close Trump ally who attended the trial last week, said, speaking generally, that it’s tough “especially if you have a loquacious client.”
“They want to respond to everything and that’s not always the best thing,” he said. “Quite frankly, there are times where you look at it and say, ‘There is no benefit to a client testifying.’”
Trump, who has violated a gag order 10 times and has been threatened with jail time if he defies it again, is notorious for speaking his mind even when it’s not in his best interests. When Daniels testified for the prosecution earlier this month, Trump was cursing loudly enough that Justice Juan Merchan told the former president’s lawyer to tell him to cool it.
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In a federal defamation trial in January, where the writer E. Jean Carroll sued over remarks Trump made denying her rape allegation, the former president testified for about three minutes. During the short time on the stand, he answered five questions with direct replies and without incident.
But when Trump took the stand and testified for four hours during a separate civil fraud trial last November, he lost his temper and attacked the judge overseeing the case, saying: “It’s a terrible thing you’ve done. You know nothing about me.”
“Anybody testifying for their own sake, it doesn’t play out well,” said Rep. Mike Bost, an Illinois Republican