Former president Donald Trump vowed to take the stand in his own defense in his imminent Manhattan hush-money trial — while his staffers pledged to keep him on the campaign trail as the case drags on.
“I’m testifying,” Trump told reporters at a Mar-a-Lago news conference.
“I tell the truth. All I can do is tell the truth,” he declared Friday. “And the truth is that there’s no case. They have no case.”
The case, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, carries historic significance: it’s the first time a former US president has stood trial on criminal charges.
Jury selection begins Monday.
Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for allegedly seeking to hide a single payment to ex-porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.
The $130,000 fee was paid by Trump’s then-attorney Michael Cohen, allegedly at Trump’s behest, to keep Daniels quiet about her claim to have had an affair with the billionaire years before.
Trump, who denies the relationship with Daniels, has pleaded not guilty.
He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
On Friday, he said the trial was an illegitimate “witch hunt.”
“That’s not a trial, that’s a scam,” Trump said. “That’s election interference by the Biden administration.”
He also came perilously close to violating the gag order imposed on him by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who last month ordered Trump not to speak about a range of witnesses, court staffers, and prosecutors, including lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo, a former Justice Department official under President Biden.
“They actually took their top guy, one of their top guys, put him into the DA’s office to run it,” Trump complained — referring to Colangelo in all but name. “And it’s a shame.”
The trial in Manhattan Supreme Court is slated to last up to eight weeks, forcing Trump to remain in New York, and not out on the campaign trail, to attend in person whenever court is in session at 100 Centre St.
But Trump aides said Saturday that what they have labeled as the “Biden trial” will give their candidate endless opportunities to control the news narrative via daily appearances before the media at Trump Tower and on the courthouse steps.
“Every time the president is in court, all of the focus is on him and the message he’s driving,” a campaign official told CNN Saturday.
“His trial can galvanize the nation if President Trump plays it smartly,” former Trump adviser Steve Bannon told Politico. “It’s going to be the centerpiece of his campaign.”
On court days, the campaign plans to arrange both virtual and in-person events for their candidate — many, they hint, in the New York area.
Meanwhile, on Wednesdays and weekends, when court is not in session, Trump will hit the road for fund-raisers and rallies, insiders said.
