Trump is lying about his defense and what he was supposedly forbidden to do:
Here's another Trump lie. His lawyers, formally notified the court that Trump did not want to pursue an advice-of-counsel defense, which makes his post below a flat out line. pic.twitter.com/dHLZX7QNOm
— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) May 29, 2024
If Trump pursued an advice of counsel defense, he would have to give up privilege over his communications with Cohen (and that might have been tricky). Same thing with whether he could take the stand--of course he could, His lawyers would have asked him questions within the limits of the gag order and could coach him how to not fuck up--but he would have, and it would have introduced various indiscretions on his part that would impeach him as a witness.
Trump is his own bad news. He's a serial liar and scofflaw.
Trump also complained about witnesses who were not called up--does he mean Allen Weisselberg? Because nothing was stopping his defense from calling him, other than whether he would have helped their case.
Trump is referring to Allen Weisselberg.
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) May 30, 2024
When the judge suggested that he could ensure Weisselberg was brought to court, Trump’s lawyer protested, noting that he wasn’t on the witness list.
Trump’s team could have called Weisselberg to the stand but didn’t want to do so. https://t.co/ZXRV6ObfdQ
