Trump says he would testify at his own trial

Former President Trump said Wednesday that he would be willing to testify in his own defense at a potential trial.

Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump if he would testify if he has to go to trial, as the former president faces criminal charges in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

“Oh, yes, absolutely,” Trump responded.

“You’ll take the stand?” Hewitt asked.

“That, I would do. That, I look forward to, because that’s just like Russia, Russia, Russia,” Trump said, referring to allegations that his campaign coordinated with the Russians during the 2016 campaign, which a special counsel investigation did not find evidence of.

Hewitt predicted that a federal obstruction charge in Florida over Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving the White House would go to trial. Trump reiterated that he looked forward to testifying in the case.

When Hewitt asked how Trump would respond if prosecutors ask whether he ordered anyone to move boxes containing classified materials, the former president declined to say but maintained he is “covered under the law.”

Federal prosecutors have alleged Trump violated both the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in taking classified records from his presidency and refusing to return them. That case is tentatively set to go to trial in April.

Trump also faces a March trial in Washington, D.C., over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election and remain in power after losing, as well as a March trial in Manhattan over an alleged hush-money scheme to cover up an affair before the 2016 election.

A trial date has yet to be set in Georgia, where Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants face charges for attempting to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.

While Trump said Wednesday he would take the stand at a possible trial, doing so would likely pose a major risk, and his lawyers may counsel the former president against testifying in his own defense. Fact-checkers found Trump made thousands of false or misleading statements during his time in the White House, making him a potential liability on the stand.