As former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial approaches, his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has cast doubt on the likelihood of Trump testifying.
Speaking on MSNBC, Cohen compared the chance of Trump taking the stand to the improbability of himself becoming a basketball player overnight, stating,
“The likelihood of Donald Trump being on the stand is equal to the likelihood of me waking up tomorrow 7’6″ and playing center for the New York Knicks—it’s not gonna happen.”
Michael Cohen (Credits: Newsweek)
This skepticism follows Trump’s recent assertion that he would “absolutely” testify. Cohen, who has become an outspoken critic of Trump after their fallout, dismissed the idea, suggesting that Trump is not a competent defendant and expressing a personal desire to see him attempt to defend himself.
According to Cohen, Trump’s performance as a witness in past legal encounters, such as the E. Jean Carroll case, has been less than stellar, where he mistakenly identified Carroll as his ex-wife, Marla Maples.
Trump faces 34 felony charges for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, aimed at preventing her from disclosing an alleged affair during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has consistently denied the affair.
Donald J. Trump (Credits: ABC News)
The trial, set to commence with jury selection, is moving forward despite Trump’s legal team’s efforts to delay proceedings. Trump has criticized the fairness of the trial location, implying that the jury pool could be biased against him, stating, “Jury selection is largely luck. It depends on who you get. It’s very unfair that I’m having a trial there.”
As the trial progresses, it will test not only the legal arguments but also the public’s perception of Trump’s accountability in the middle of his claims of political persecution and the contrasting narrative from his critics, including Cohen, who depict him as trying to evade justice.
