Trump should take the stand in federal court, says legal team: ‘Fantastic advocate for himself’
Former President Donald Trump should testify in any of his pending court battles, including the federal trial on charges of mishandling classified documents and obstructing justice, a member of his legal team said.
Alina Habba, a spokesperson for Mr. Trump’s legal team who represents him in several civil matters, told The Washington Times that she has no problem if the former president wants to take the stand to defend himself in any criminal trial.
...Ms. Habba said. “So when he’s done nothing wrong, you speak to that when you can and when it’s legally sound, but, again, it’s a strategy decision. It’s a legal strategy decision for the attorneys of record to decide at the moment.”...
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If you are going to argue that Trump thought in his head these documents were declassified, you can’t get that in evidence without testimony from the former president,” said Jared Carter, who teaches constitutional law at Vermont Law and Graduate School....
...Once Mr. Trump is on the stand, he will be subject to cross-examination by Mr. Smith’s team. That could spell trouble for the former president, Mr. Carter said.
“It will be a legal train wreck. You are going to have prosecutors asking questions, and you are going to have to respond under oath, and Trump isn’t going to be able to keep his mouth shut,” he said. “Prosecutors would relish the opportunity to cross-examine Trump. That’s why defendants don’t testify on their behalf.”
Former Attorney General William Barr, once a staunch ally of Mr. Trump, also has questioned the wisdom of putting him on the stand in the New York case.
“Generally, I think it’s a bad idea to go on the stand, and I think it’s a particularly bad idea for Trump because he lacks all self-control. It would be very difficult to prepare him and keep him testifying in a prudent fashion,” Mr. Barr said...