Donald Trump’s desire for a favorable outcome in his New York hush money trial will not be fulfilled without facing consequences.
Presiding Judge Juan Merchan made the ruling on Monday, stating that prosecutors have the right to question the former president about previous judgments and violations of gag orders. This ruling will only come into play if Trump decides to take the stand, but considering his statement expressing eagerness to testify in the trial, it seems likely that he will.
However, Trump’s legal team may prevent him from doing so, particularly given his past instances of taking the stand in an attempt to alter the narrative surrounding previous rulings.
Last week, the district attorney’s office indicated their interest in highlighting a series of Trump’s previous lawsuits to portray him as an untrustworthy individual. These cases include the New York civil fraud trial, where Trump was instructed to pay almost half a billion dollars to the state, and the defamation trials filed against him by E. Jean Carroll, resulting in a payout of $83.3 million.