Trump lawyers 'afraid' of what he'll do when he takes the stand on Monday: legal expert – Raw Story
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Reporting on Donald Trump's day in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom on Thursday, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin noted the former president is planning to take the stand on Monday and that his lawyers are not happy with that prospect.
Speaking with "Morning Joe" co-host Willie Geist, Rubin began by stating the $250 million financial trial is not going well for the former president who is facing the possible dissolution of his Trump Organization and his legal team fears he will make things worse if he takes the stand.
The legal analyst also said she gets the feeling that Trump's lawyers will endeavor to talk him out of taking the stand over the weekend.
"There's so much legal trouble surrounding Donald Trump, that people tend to lose track of it all," host Geist prompted his guest. "You're the eyes in the courtroom; as he takes the stand Monday, what does the case look like? How is it going for him right now?"
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"I don't think it is going particularly well," Rubin laughed. "Let me resist your question to one extent: I'm not positive Donald Trump is going to testify. I can tell you, looking at you here, I know Donald Trump wants to testify but his lawyers desperately wanted to lift the gag order that's still in place. They weren't able to do so. They asked Judge Engoron to pause the trial, he would not do so."
"They told me to my face the day before they weren't going to ask him that because they knew how it was going to go," she reported. "That signals to me they are afraid of having their client on the stand and inches away from that principal law clerk he can't talk about when he testifies."
"I'll tell you also, he [Trump] didn't answer any questions yesterday in the hallway, he speechified," she added.
Watch below or at the link.
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Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy compared the alleged censorship of conservative students to calls for Jewish genocide.
During a Sunday discussion on Fox & Friends Weekend, co-host Will Cain noted that the University of Pennsylvania's president, M. Elizabeth Magill, had resigned following testimony where she was asked if calls for Jewish "genocide" could be punished at her school.
"Again, it's about anti-Semitism, but it's also a bigger story about speech on campus, about the treatment of anyone who has a diverse point of view, especially if you're a conservative," Campos-Duffy opined. "What the Jewish population is facing in these schools is what conservative students have been facing for a long time."
ALSO READ: 10 more members of Congress have violated a federal financial law
"So many of them have been canceled and threatened as well," she added.
"No doubt, and it'll be interesting to see whether these other campuses take that same step," co-host Pete Hegseth agreed.
Watch the video below from Fox News or at the link.
During an appearance on CNN early Sunday morning, former federal prosecutor Shan Wu laughed and seemed baffled why Donald Trump attorney Alina Habba chose to go on Fox News last Friday and admit she doesn't want her client to take the stand on Monday.
Appearing with CNN host Amara Walker, Wu was asked what he expected Trump to say and do when he takes the stand on Monday in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom on Monday to defend himself in the $250 million financial fraud trial.
First stating, "A lot could go wrong; he's a bad witness for everybody, he meanders a lot when he's on direct, he meanders a lot on cross, if he gets hostile on cross that's not a very good look for him.," the attorney added "It is a bench trial, it could be less damaging than before a jury, and it may mean nothing because the judge has already decided the important parts of the case."
Changing gears he brought up Habba's appearance on Fox where she told host Martha MacCallum that she advised her client to boycott appearing and that he is ignoring her advice.
RELATED: Alina Habba accused of breaching attorney/client privilege by former Trump lawyer
"First of all, usually, you don't get in front of the cameras and say what you advise the client— it's kind of privileged," Wu laughed.
"Second of all, it seems wrong," he continued. "I mean, no one is going to find he violated a gag order by testifying. I mean: apples and oranges. The gag order is don't talk about the trial outside of the courtroom, not that you're not allowed to testify. So it just seems odd."
Watch below or at the link.
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According to one former federal prosecutor, it is finally time for Judge Tanya Chutkan to put some bite into her attempts to keep Donald Trump from trying to intimidate witnesses and courtroom personnel by plopping him in jail to get his attention.
In an interview with Newsweek, former prosecutor Neama Rahmani claimed the former president has been the recipient of far too much leeway from the courts after gag orders have been issued and that it is time for the D.C judge overseeing his federal election case to send him a message next time he defies her.
Speaking with Newsweek's Sean O'Driscoll, Rahmani explained, "All of this is meaningless unless Judge Chutkan is actually going to enforce the gag order and revoke Trump's bond or hold him in contempt. So far, no judge has been willing to do so, aside from minor, meaningless fines."
Rahmani added that revocation of Trump's bond would mean he would be taken into custody and jailed before his case comes to trial in March.
RELATED: Footnote in Trump gag order ruling is bad news for the ex-president: former prosecutor
The former prosecutor added, "Obviously, there are First Amendment issues at play for a presidential candidate, but Trump has pushed the limits of free expression and gag orders have been routinely upheld by appellate courts, including the Supreme Court."
The report adds that Appeals Court Judge Patricia A. Millett was specific about how the former president should be treated, writing, "Mr. Trump is a former president and current candidate for the presidency, and there is a strong public interest in what he has to say. But Mr. Trump is also an indicted criminal defendant, and he must stand trial in a courtroom under the same procedures that govern all other criminal defendants. That is what the rule of law means."
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