‘I’m testifying, I’ll tell the truth,‘ President Trump said. ’I always tell the truth, and the truth is they have no case.’
During a joint press conference on April 12 with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), former President Donald Trump said he would testify at his upcoming criminal trial in New York if called to do so.
“I’m testifying, I’ll tell the truth,” President Trump said. “I always tell the truth, and the truth is they have no case.”
In a previous press conference, President Trump said he was willing to testify but had added that he expected the trial to be delayed past the April 15 trial date. After three back-to-back rejections from the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court to stay the trial pending appeals, the case is set to go to trial Monday.
Jury selection begins on April 15, and on April 12 the defense raised some objections to the judge’s questions for the jurors, wanting to drill down on those who have a negative view of the presumptive Republican nominee.
During the press conference, President Trump pointed out he has a pending appeal on the judge’s rejection of his motion to move the trial out of Manhattan.
“Jury selection is largely luck. It depends who you get. It’s very unfair that I’m having a trial there [in Manhattan],” President Trump said.
He also criticized New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, calling him politically biased. The defense has twice requested that the judge recuse himself from the case, and the judge has already declined to step down once.
“It’s very unfair that we have this judge that hates Trump and has this tremendous conflict,” President Trump said. “Nobody can believe this judge isn’t recusing himself, the conflict is at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”
President Trump did not detail the arguments for recusal, as a new gag order presumably would prevent him from doing so. Defense attorneys had argued that the judge’s daughter has a stake in a political consultancy that has received millions of dollars from anti-Trump candidates who are fundraising with messaging about the upcoming trial. A recent court order prohibits President Trump from speaking about family members of the judge.
