DONALD Trump’s legal team will not put the ex-president on the stand to testify in his business records trial, a lawyer has predicted.
Embattled Trump is facing a slew of claims and he could be sentenced to four years in prison if convicted.
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Prosecutors have claimed Trump falsified business records in a bid to potentially cover up stories that could’ve significantly damaged his 2016 presidential election campaign.
The trial is linked to a $130,000 hush money payment that Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen sent to the porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump has repeatedly said he will testify as he fights to clear his name, but lawyer Gregory Germain, of Syracuse University, doesn’t think he will carry out his promise.
“He’s kind of a bull in a china shop,” he told The U.S. Sun.
“He’s going to be bucking and you just don’t know what’s going to happen.
“He’s a very difficult guy to control. His lawyers are going to be very concerned about putting him on the stand under oath.”
Germain noted that Trump would be going against convention if he takes the stand.
“The standard view of criminal lawyers is that you don’t want your client to take the stand,” he said.
“It’s very dangerous for the client to take the stand because if they say anything that turns out to be false, the jury will think everything is false and convict them.”
Germain warned Trump could be questioned on topics that could embarrass him.
“I would be very scared if I was an attorney to put Donald Trump on the stand,” he admitted.
“You can’t practice with him and get him to do the things the way you want him to do them.”
Germain said Trump’s team might have a different view if his demeanor was the opposite.
“If he was Joe Biden or Barack Obama in the same situation, you would put him on the stand.
“They are kind of likable and they’d be able to not get themselves in trouble.
Donald Trump’s legal battles
Donald Trump is the first former president to be charged with state or federal crimes. He has been indicted four times and faces a slew of charges. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is juggling dates in court with rallies on the campaign trail. The U.S. Sun breaks down the former president’s current legal battles.
New York Business Records
- Trump stands accused of falsifying business records allegedly connected to $130,000 of hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
- The payment, which was executed by Trump’s ex-attorney Michael Cohen, ensured an embarrassing story wasn’t published in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
- Trump could face up to four years in prison if convicted.
- Trump can only be pardoned by the governor of New York if he is convicted.
- The trial began on April 15 and is expected to last through May.
Federal Classified Documents
- Trump is accused of mishandling classified documents after he left office and storing them at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
- He has also been accused of obstructing federal agents as they tried to reclaim the documents.
- Trump is further alleged to have shown the trove of files to people who were not supposed to see them.
- Trump faces a slew of charges, including allegations he violated the Espionage Act.
- Trump is also accused of engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- He could face 100 years in prison if convicted.
- The case is not expected to go to trial before the November election.
- If Trump wins, he could either pardon himself or order the Department of Justice to drop the charges because the case was brought at the federal level.
Federal Election Subversion
- In August 2023, the Department of Justice indicted Trump over the events linked to the January 6 insurrection and organizing false slates of electors.
- Trump has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights, and obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding.
- If convicted, Trump could get a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison.
- A trial date has not yet been decided, but the case is unlikely to go to trial before the November election.
- The Supreme Court is considering arguments surrounding whether Trump is immune from prosecution for some or all actions while in the White House.
Georgia Election Interference:
- Trump and 18 others have been accused of attempting to alter the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia by pressuring local officials and election workers.
- The district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, which includes Atlanta, indicted Trump on racketeering charges in August 2023.
- He turned himself into a Georgia jail and had his mugshot taken.
- A trial is not expected to take place before the November election.
- Trump cannot pardon himself if he’s convicted because the charges were brought at the state level.
- In Georgia, only a board that is appointed by the governor can approve pardons.
“I don’t think Trump is able to control himself in any way ever, so it’s just too dangerous to put them on the stand.”
Trump’s trial is at the end of its third week and it’s expected to run into next month.
A verdict will come just months before Americans go to the polls.
But Trump has already found himself in hot water with the judge holding the ex-president in contempt.
Trump was charged $9,000 after Merchan ruled he violated a gag order several times.
The bombastic tycoon was ordered to remove several social media posts and two posts on his campaign website.
Merchan has warned there could be further consequences if there are subsequent breaches of the order.
CONTEMPT HEARING
Four additional alleged breaches are being investigated.
Two cases involved alleged comments Trump made about Cohen.
Merchan is also probing comments Trump allegedly made about David Pecker – the former CEO of American Media.
He’s also investigated alleged comments Trump made about the jury.
Merchan has not yet ruled on those but warned Trump that he could end up being jailed.
But Germain believes the judge would not carry out his threat.
He acknowledged Merchan should warn Trump about the potential ramifications of his alleged actions.
“It’s awfully messy,” Germain admitted.
“I think it would be wise of the judge to lecture him about it, and not try to sentence him to jail.
“I think if he sentenced him to jail it would raise a hue and a cry and a crisis.”
Germain believes an appellate court would intervene and give Trump a temporary stay.
If Trump ended up being slapped with a jail sentence, it would raise questions surrounding Merchan’s fitness to preside over the trial.
Trump vehemently denies the charges that have been leveled against him.
Germain revealed there are two obstacles the prosecution must overcome.
First, they must prove Trump falsified the business records to defraud somebody.
“But, they don’t identify who was defrauded or how it was fraudulent to make these entries,” Germain said.
“He was obviously trying to hide something but who was being defrauded?
“Was he doing it to defraud someone or was he doing it to hide embarrassing facts which may be perfectly legal?
LEGAL BATTLES
Germain also warned the prosecution must convince the judge that the false business records were being made to cover up an independent crime.
“The district attorney has never clearly said: ‘What is the crime?” he said.
The business records case is just one of four criminal cases Trump is facing.
Because Trump has been indicted on state charges in New York, he can only be pardoned by the governor.
Trump has also been accused of storing a trove of classified documents at his plush Mar-a-Lago resort after leaving office.
He has been accused of obstructing efforts to reclaim the trove of files.
Trump vehemently the slew of allegations against him and he has been accused of violating the Espionage Act.
The former commander-in-chief is also accused of trying to pressure officials and election workers in Georgia to alter the outcome of the 2020 election in the state.
A trial is not likely to take place before November’s contest.
Trump’s slew of indictments saw him consolidate support among diehard fans in the race to become the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
And current polls have Trump ahead in a hypothetical match-up against Joe Biden, per Real Clear Politics.
Trump also boasts leads in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Nevada, according to the polls.
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