Former President Donald Trump has said he wants to testify during his hush money trial.
“All I can do is tell the truth,” Trump said before the trial even started.
However, legal experts are weighing in on whether or not that is a good idea as his lawyers decided if he takes the stand, per Politico.
One of the main reasons, experts say, is the mere fact he is Donald Trump.
“He’s somebody who’s not controlled, who is going to be all over the place,” according to Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor and legal analyst.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a former attorney and close Trump ally said it’s generally not a good idea for a defendant to testify “especially if you have a loquacious client.”
“They want to respond to everything and that’s not always the best thing,” Biggs said. “Quite frankly, there are times where you look at it and say, ‘There is no benefit to a client testifying.’”
Throughout the trial, Trump has proven his proclivity to talk, having violated the gag order 10 times and found in contempt by Judge Juan Merchan.
Trump has also been vocal in the courtroom as evidenced when adult film actress Stormy Daniels was in the stand earlier this month.
“Trump was cursing loudly enough that Justice Juan Merchan told the former president’s lawyer to tell him to cool it,” Politico reported.
Trump is on trial for allegedly paying Daniels money — through former attorney Michael Cohen — in exchange for her silence in their alleged sexual encounter.
“Anybody testifying for their own sake, it doesn’t play out well,” said Rep. Mike Bost, an Illinois Republican. “He’ll have plenty of time after the trial to say what he wants once they remove the gag order — and he will.”
If one takes into account Trump’s previous times on the stand, testifying this time could go either way, good or bad.
In the federal trial when writer E. Jean Carroll sued Trump over what he said when he denied her rape allegation, he took the stand to answer five questions without incident.
However, when he testified at a civil fraud trial in November, he lost his temper and said to the judge overseeing the matter, “It’s a terrible thing you’ve done. You know nothing about me.”
Still, there are those that believe Trump has proven his innocence and there’s no need for him to testify.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) said the defense “hit a home run” when they cross-examined Cohen.
“I don’t think he really needs to at this point. I think it’s kind of over,” she said. “We just need a fair jury. We should be able to get one person on that jury.”
