Former prosecutors warn Trump lawyers’ “dumb” move in NY fraud trial could badly backfire

A former federal prosecutor on Tuesday argued that lawyers for Donald Trump are making a mistake by deciding to make the former president the last witness they plan to call to the stand in his New York civil fraud trial. According to HuffPost, Trump’s attorneys said Monday that they would call him to testify for the final time on Dec. 11 in the $250 million lawsuit, in which New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses him, other Trump Organization executives and the company itself of heavily exaggerating assets for financial gain. 

Former assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth de la Vega argued that the decision was “well, dumb,” on X/Twitter. After Trump testifies on direct examination, he will have to face cross-examination, she wrote. “Any benefit Trump’s [attorneys] think his direct testimony provides will be destroyed by the time AG [attorneys] finish with him,” she predicted. Former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman agreed that the move could backfire. “Don’t expect the AG to let him just bloviate as they did in their case,” he wrote. “He’ll deliver whatever informercial he wants on direct, but then the cross should be a classic surgical examination.”