As the curtain rises on Donald Trump’s hush money trial, set to begin Monday, the former president says that he plans to testify in his own defense. Trump denies having a sexual encounter with adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2006, as well as the allegation that he later falsified business records while trying to buy her silence for $130,000 ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump took questions on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, from outlets including The New York Times and Politico. He called the trial a “witch hunt” that’s “very bad for the judicial system in New York.” He also claimed that he will speak on his own behalf—a promise he’s made and reneged on before. As the Times notes, testifying during a criminal trial could be an even more dangerous move.
Nevertheless, he persisted.
“I’m testifying,” Trump told reporters Friday. “I tell the truth. All I can do is tell the truth, and the truth is that there is no case. They have no case.”
Trump faces a maximum of four years in prison for 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, according to The Guardian. When reached by the Times, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment on the former president’s statements to reporters.
Trump’s attorneys have tried and failed three times to delay his prosecution. He has also attacked Judge Juan Merchan multiple times, often citing the judge’s daughter’s political consulting work with Democratic candidates as proof that he is compromised in this case. On Monday, Trump sued Merchan over a gag order that barred him from denigrating witnesses in the case, as well as the judge’s family, prosecutors, and court staff.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Trump once again took the opportunity to complain.
“It’s very unfair that we have this judge who hates Trump and has tremendous conflict, as you know,” he said. “Nobody can believe that this judge isn’t recusing himself. The conflict is at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”
This marks the first criminal trial ever brought against a former U.S. president. As made obvious by his comments, Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he will “absolutely” testify in his upcoming Manhattan hush-money trial, which is set to begin jury selection on Monday morning.
But Trump hasn’t always kept his testimony promises.
The first of Trump’s four pending felony trials is slated to start in Manhattan state court next week, where the former president faces allegations he falsified 34 business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election.
In a Friday press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump told reporters he plans to testify in the trial, which he called a “scam” and “witch hunt.”
“I’m testifying. I tell the truth. All I can do is tell the truth and the truth is they have no case,” he said.
Trump’s pledge to testify, however, far from assures he will actually take the stand. People familiar with his planning told The New York Times that Trump will likely wait to decide whether he testifies until he sees how strong a case District Attorney Alvin Bragg presents. The former president will also likely make a decision based on whether the judge allows prosecutors to cross examine him on the stand, the outlet reported.
During his December trial on fraud charges in New York civil court, Trump cancelled his testimony just one day before he was supposed to take the stand a second time in the case — an abrupt pivot from his lawyers’ previous insistence that Trump would testify again.
The judge in that case ultimately found Trump liable for trying to inflate his net worth, ordering him to pay nearly $355 million plus interest.
Trump is not required to testify in the hush-money case and cross-examination could leave him open to questions about several aspects of the case, including the nature of his relationship with Daniels. If found guilty, Trump could face probation or prison time.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said he never had a sexual relationship with Daniels.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Earlier this year, Trump testified in the defamation trial brought against him by columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexually assaulting her. The judge in that case significantly limited what Trump was allowed to say on the stand and later ordered him to pay her $83.3 million.
Trump ran out of options this week after trying several times to delay the start of the hush-money trial. Three Manhattan appellate judges rejected three different emergency delay requests on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
