Today, jury selection begins in Donald Trump’s hush money case.
Trump was recently asked about testifying in the case, which many legal experts recommend he not do.
Talking Points…
- Trump says he will testify in hush money case
- Experts warn Trump against testifying
- Analysis
As the defendant in the case, Donald Trump does not have to testify in his own defense if he does not want to, but Donald Trump responded last week that he has every intention of taking the stand in this case. Trump held a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Friday on an unrelated matter, but he was asked about testifying in his own defense. He responded:
“I’m testifying.
“I tell the truth. All I can do is tell the truth. And the truth is that there’s no case. They have no case.”
Trump is facing a federal indictment of nearly three dozen charges regarding hush-money payments he made to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg maintains that Trump had the ledger entries made to make it appear that these were business expenses.
Testifying in court, under oath, is far different from going on social media and ranting about the wrongs that were allegedly done to Trump. If Trump gets on the stand and says some of the things that he has put up on Truth Social, he could find himself in a bit of a pickle.
It is not exactly a bombshell to report that Trump likes to enhance his stories at times, but that is not something he will be able to do on the stand when he is telling his side of the story. If Trump so much as stretches the truth or outright lies, they are going to hit him with perjury charges on top of all the other charges he currently faces. CNN legal analyst Elie Honig commented on why Trump should avoid testifying in this trial. Honig stated:
“So on that second point, first, I would beg him not to take this stand. You never quite know what Donald Trump will do.
“I think it’s unlikely he takes the stand, Jake, even though in movies and TV, the defendant seems to always take the stand, it’s quite rare in a criminal case.”
Trump testified in his previous civil case, and we all saw how that turned out for him. Between the two cases, Trump stands to lose more than $500 million (if he does not win his appeals). As much of a hit as that is for Trump, that is not jail time, something he will face in this case if he is found guilty.
Explaining further, Honig warned of Trump’s angry outbursts and tendency to mumble under his breath, stating:
“The jury is sitting just a couple feet away from you. They’re watching and evaluating everything you do.
“And if you’re hanging your head and grumbling and having a temper tantrum, they will see that they will hold that against you.”
I tend to agree with Honig on this front because prosecutors would love to take their crack at Trump on the stand. My concern is not what he would say when his defense team questioned him, as all that will be rehearsed and scripted. My concern is how Trump will react when prosecutors turn on the heat and challenge him in areas where they know Trump has lied or exaggerated in the past. As I noted above, if Trump even colors outside the lines just a little bit, I have no doubt that Bragg will hit him with perjury charges on top of the other 34 charges he is facing in this case.
