Trump Says He Plans To Testify In New York Trial, Calls Jury Selection “Largely Luck”

Former President Donald Trump mentioned Friday that he was “completely” planning on taking the stand in his upcoming trial in New York, the place he at the moment faces 34 legal counts of falsifying enterprise data associated to his $130,000 “hush cash” fee to former grownup movie star Stormy Daniels earlier than his 2016 election.

“I’m testifying. I inform the reality,” Trump mentioned in response to a query from a reporter throughout a press convention at his Mar-a-Lago property. “I imply, all I can do is inform the reality. And the reality is that there’s no case. They haven’t any case.”

Reprising strains he has used about his sprawling legal circumstances all through the marketing campaign season, Trump known as the prosecution in opposition to him a “rip-off” and a “witch hunt” and claimed it was proof that the U.S. has change into a “third-world nation.”

The trial is ready to final six weeks, and Trump will likely be required to be in court docket day-after-day it’s in session, which can usually be each weekday save Wednesdays.

In fact, like several promise Trump makes, his vow to testify should be taken with a grain of salt, as he has a historical past of constructing after which reneging on comparable guarantees. In his civil trial in New York on enterprise fraud fees, Trump abruptly determined to not take the witness simply at some point earlier than he was presupposed to. The previous president was finally hit with a $354 million penalty in that case.

Sources accustomed to Trump’s pondering instructed The New York Occasions that the previous president will seemingly wait to resolve whether or not to testify till he sees if Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg presents a compelling case. One other necessary issue will likely be whether or not prosecutors’ cross-examination efforts are restricted by the decide overseeing the case.

Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who coordinated fee to Daniels and can seemingly be a central witness within the trial, instructed NBC on Saturday that he felt the percentages of Trump truly testifying have been low. “The chance of Donald Trump being on the stand is the same as the chance of me waking up tomorrow and being 7-foot-6 and taking part in middle for the New York Knicks,” Cohen mentioned. “It’s not going to occur.”

Trump’s Friday feedback got here as Juan Merchan, the New York County Supreme Courtroom Choose presiding over the case, slapped down one more request from the previous president to delay the trial begin date. The ruling was not less than the fourth case final week through which an effort by Trump’s authorized staff to postpone the trial fell flat.

The case is shifting ahead as scheduled, with jury choice slated to start on Monday. In his Friday remarks, Trump mentioned that jury choice within the case is “largely luck,” including: “It is determined by who you get.”