Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Donald Trump will face one of the most consequential decisions of the year — if not his career — when he chooses whether to testify in his own criminal trial in New York.
Politically, taking the stand might offer Trump the chance to project strength and defiance in the face of a prosecution he has decried as illegitimate.
But legal experts believe the presumptive GOP presidential nominee faces peril if he is grilled about his alleged sexual encounter with Stormy and his treatment of women.
The Telegraph reports:
Donald Trump’s defense lawyer won plaudits for his aggressive handling this week of Michael Cohen, one of the key witnesses in the ongoing “hush money” case against the former president.
But now Todd Blanche has a bigger battle on his hands: convincing his client not to take to the witness box himself in Manhattan Criminal Court next week. Mr Trump has still not decided whether he will testify in his own defence, Mr Blanche said on Thursday.
Commentators believe the lawyer will be working furiously behind the scenes to stop that happening. In the last few weeks, Mr Trump has told the media he would “absolutely” testify, that he would give evidence “if necessary”, and that he would “probably” do so.
The Washington Post reports:
Judge Juan Merchan prepared for the possibility that Trump would take the stand by issuing rulings specifying what he can and can’t be asked about on the witness stand. Such rulings cover a lot of ground for a defendant like Trump, who has a long history of litigation, accusations and public declarations.
Merchan ruled that Trump could be asked on the stand about a recent civil court case in which a judge concluded that he and others carried out a years-long financial fraud; his violations of a gag order in that case; and his two separate court losses to the writer E. Jean Carroll, who sued him for defamation and battery.
Donald Trump is facing one of the most consequential decisions of the year—if not his career—when he chooses whether to testify in his own criminal trial in New York https://t.co/Bbcg9HlPl8https://t.co/Bbcg9HlPl8
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 18, 2024