Donald Trump won’t testify once more in his civil fraud trial, the previous president introduced in an all-caps Fact Social rant Sunday. “I HAVE ALREADY TESTIFIED TO EVERYTHING,” he wrote, “& HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY OTHER THAN THAT THIS IS A COMPLETE & TOTAL ELECTION INTERFERENCE (BIDEN CAMPAIGN!) WITCH HUNT.”
It’s a last-minute reversal for Trump, whose lawyer stated final week that her boss “doesn’t cower” and regarded ahead to testifying as soon as once more in his personal protection. “He’s firmly in opposition to what is occurring on this court docket and so firmly for the outdated America that we all know, not this America, that he’ll take that stand on Monday,” Alina Habba told reporters Thursday. (She’s not the one one touting Trump’s supposed bravery; the previous president himself claimed in a speech Saturday {that a} “unbelievable common” as soon as informed him that debating Hillary Clinton after the Entry Hollywood tape got here out was extra brave than combating a struggle.)
If Trump is probably “cowering” now, it could be as a result of his final look on the witness stand didn’t go so nicely. “This can be a very unfair trial,” he whined throughout his November testimony, lashing out at Decide Arthur Engoron and New York Legal professional Normal Tish James throughout an prolonged mood tantrum below oath.
“Management your consumer,” Engoron informed Trump’s protection workforce at one level.
In apparently canceling his plans to testify once more, he’s on the very least sparing everybody a repeat efficiency within the trial. That doesn’t imply he’s going to close up about it, in fact; he’s used the fraud trial as a type of extension of his 2024 marketing campaign, casting himself as a martyr searching for “retribution” on behalf of himself and his supporters. “This can be a case that ought to have by no means been introduced,” Trump stated as he left court docket Thursday, describing the proceedings as a “shame to America.”
However there’s a distinction between making unchallenged statements outdoors the courtroom and making them on the witness stand, below oath. “We have now already confirmed that he dedicated years of economic fraud and unjustly enriched himself,” James stated in a statement Sunday. “Regardless of how a lot he tries to distract from actuality, the info don’t lie.”
