In most criminal trials, the defendant sits next to his or her attorney and keeps their mouth shut.
That will not be the case during Donald Trump’s trial.
For better or worse, he broke the news this week that he intends to take the stand, reported ABC News.
Taking the Stand
Generally speaking, defendants are advised not to take the stand.
The general fear is that the prosecuting attorney will get considerable leeway and will rip them to shreds.
It has always been assumed that Trump would not take the stand, but he destroyed that narrative while talking to Hugh Hewitt this week.
When asked about testifying, Trump responded, "Oh yes, absolutely.”
He continued, "That, I would do — that, I look forward to... At trial, I’ll testify. Because that’s just like Russia, Russia, Russia.”
Trump is going to have to be very careful if he does, in fact, testify, and I am still not sure his attorneys will let that happen.
But if he does, anything he says, he better make sure he has the facts to back it up.
He best be especially careful in the January 6 case because prosecutors and Democrats would love to be able to slap insurrection charges on him.
I bring this up because Trump has repeatedly stated that he would pardon the January 6 defendants, which, if stated on the stand, could be considered offering comfort and aid to insurrectionists, which would immediately bring in the 14th Amendment.
If I were Trump’s attorney, I would be begging him to keep quiet, but we all know Trump is Trump, and that means he will do whatever he wants.
If he takes the stand and slips up, he will only have himself to blame.
And if Trump is convicted in any of these cases, he will never see the light of day again, not to mention throwing the GOP election into complete turmoil.
