Former President Donald Trump has confirmed he wants testify at the Stormy Daniels hush money trial and said jury selection is all about ‘luck.’
The eyes of the world will be on New York City on Monday morning when the 77-year-old becomes the first former president to stand in a criminal trial.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee faces 34 charges he falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Daniels over their alleged affair before the 2016 election.
Trump took questions about the upcoming case alongside Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson at Mar-a-Lago on Friday during a press conference on ‘election integrity.’
When asked if it was ‘risky’ for him to testify in his own defense, Trump dismissed the dangers and promised he would tell the truth. ‘I’m testifying. I tell the truth. All I can do is tell the truth,’ the former president said.
Donald Trump has confirmed he will testify at the Stormy Daniels hush money trial
‘And the truth is, that there’s no case.’
‘It’s a scam. It’s a scam. That’s not a trial. That’s not a trial. That’s a scam’, he added.
He said he would testify just as the judge declined to delay the trial because of the huge amount of publicity surrounding the case.
Remaining defiant he called the Manhattan trial ‘election interference’ with just four days to go until jury selection begins.
The process to choose the panel of 12 New York residents who will decide his fate of the former president is about ‘luck,’ he said, adding that it was ‘unfair’ it was happening in the liberal city.
His legal team have consistently argued there is no way the prominent Republican can get a fair trial because the majority of the city leans Democratic.
Trump faces 34 charges he falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Daniels over their alleged affair before the 2016 election
‘It depends who you get,’ he said of jury selection. ‘It’s very unfair that I am having a trial there. It’s very unfair that we have this judge who hates Trump.’
Trump referred to the trial as a ‘witchhunt,’ a term he’s used previously to apply to a bevy of legal troubles.
‘It’s very bad for New York and it’s very bad for the judicial system in New York,’ Trump said.
Under New York law Trump will be required to attend the trial in person, taking him away from his third White House campaign.
The trial, however, will not be testified, but Trump will likely be photographed and can make statements from the courthouse hallways.
If convicted, Trump could face up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges against him.
It’s more likely, however, that the 77-year-old would face probation due to him being a first-time offender in the state.