The defense rested its case Tuesday without testimony from Donald Trump.
Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Donald Trump said Wednesday that he didn’t take the stand in his hush money trial because he didn’t agree with the judge’s rulings — and because he was seemingly worried about information that could have come out during cross-examination.
“He made rulings that makes it very difficult to testify,” Trump said in an interview on WABC Radio, referring to Judge Juan Merchan. “Anything I did, anything I did in the past, they can bring everything up, and you know what, I’ve had a great past — but anything.”
“The other reason is because they have no case,” Trump said. “In other words, why would — why testify when they have no case?”
Trump had originally indicated he would testify, saying on April 12 that “I would testify, absolutely.” But he subsequently appeared to back away from the idea, falsely telling reporters on May 2 that the limited gag order in the case — which prohibits extrajudicial statements about witnesses and jurors — prevented him from testifying.
The next day in court, Judge Merchan directly addressed Trump to clarify that he has an “absolute right” to testify and that the limited gag order does not apply to his statements in court.
“I want to stress, Mr. Trump, that you have an absolute right to testify at trial, if that is what you decide to do after consultation with your attorneys,” Merchan said.
