Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal on Sunday said former President Donald Trump faces a “Hobson’s Choice” when he takes the stand in his civil fraud trial in New York this week.
Trump could answer the questions or take the Fifth Amendment when being grilled in the $250 million lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James ― who alleges Trump routinely overvalued assets for financial gain ― but “both are a problem” Katyal told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki.
“The case for [Trump] taking the Fifth Amendment is he’s basically going to perjure himself one way or another if he takes the stand,” said Katyal.
Trump is “known for giving meandering testimony” which could get him into serious trouble, Katyal continued. But, if Trump doesn’t testify in the civil trial, then under New York State law his silence can be read “to be the absolute worst.”
“I can’t imagine having a client like this,” Katyal admitted.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann agreed.
Trump could be grilled on black-and-white issues — such as why he overvalued his Mar-a-Lago resort and overexaggerated the size of his Manhattan apartment — that “will be extremely hard for him to come up with a consistent theory that’s not going to get him into a lot of trouble,” said Weissmann.
Weissmann also explained how prosecutors could “go big” with their questioning by asking Trump about the criminal cases against him, to prove he’s a known liar. Weissmann suggested Trump would take the Fifth if the questions relate to the criminal cases.
“He’ll be forced to answer strategically because if he doesn’t answer, this whole case is over,” he added.
Watch the discussion here: