Donald Trump's Attorney Offers Clue About Whether He Will Testify

One of Donald Trump's attorneys has offered an insight into whether or not the former president will testify in his hush-money trial.

On CNN, Will Scharf was asked about the Republican's legal strategy as the high-profile criminal case involving Stormy Daniels began on Monday.

He said the decision to testify will be made by Trump and his trial team based on how the trial goes, but said that the former president "would be a very compelling witness in this case" and that his testimony would show "he did nothing wrong."

The Context

Starting on Monday, the hush-money trial will determine whether Trump falsified business records over payments to former adult film star Daniels to keep an alleged affair secret before the 2016 election, as alleged in a criminal indictment.

Prosecutors led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg allege the payments were part of a scheme to stop potentially damaging stories about the Republican from becoming public. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges against him in the case.

What We Know

Asked about whether Trump should take the stand, Scharf said: "I think that's going to be a question for President Trump and the trial team based on how the trial goes. The defendant obviously has every right to take the stand in his own defense he also has every right not to and the prosecution is not allowed to try to get the jury to form any inference based on a decision one way or another.

When pressed about his legal advice, he added: "I think President Trump would be a very compelling witness in this case, I think his testimony would be able to explain as other witnesses testimony would that he did nothing wrong here.

Newsweek contacted a representative for Trump by email to comment on this story.

Views

Speaking to Newsweek, Todd Landman, a professor of political science at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., said Trump testifying could be risky.

"From the perspective of the defense strategy, having Trump testify carries a lot of risk. He will have to confront and contest documentary and oral evidence presented to him and be cross-examined on his testimony. There are likely to be a series of personally awkward questions even within the trial parameters set out yesterday in court involving his past actions, while there will be forensic accounting evidence presented about the flow of finance, meetings about finance, and internal communications before and after the 2016 election."

"The key for the defense is that if he were to testify, he would need to be coached on providing concise and factual answers without being tempted into making extemporaneous answers or political statements," he continued.

"The trial is focussed on the fact patterns of the case, the evidence, and the applicable law. He has strenuously denied all the charges and thus will need to demonstrate that the prosecution's evidence is circumstantial at best, or far too flimsy to demonstrate the connections alleged in the indictment."

What's Next?

Jury proceedings for Trump's hush-money trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The trial is expected to last between six and eight weeks.

Update, 4/16/24, 6:00 a.m. EST: This story has been updated with further information.