Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has revealed his trial plan in former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money case, filing a document listing previous "misconducts and criminal acts."
On Wednesday, prosecutors gave a glimpse into their trial plan as they filed their "Sandoval" notice, which discloses all "misconduct and criminal acts of the defendant" which they intend to use at trial to impeach Trump's credibility.
Trump on Monday became the first former president in U.S. history to stand trial in a criminal case. Following an investigation by Bragg's office, Trump was indicted in March 2023 on charges of falsifying business records relating to hush money paid to adult-film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels alleges that she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and said the case against him is politically motivated.
According to the court documents, if Trump decides to testify, the "people will intend to inquire" regarding the listed misconducts and criminal acts.
Among the list are New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud case and the E. Jean Carroll civil defamation case.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
In February, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in favor of James' lawsuit against Trump, his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and The Trump Organization over allegations that the former president inflated the value of his properties and his own net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to make deals and secure loans. Engoron said the former president must pay $454 million, which includes $355 million in penalties plus nearly $100 million in interest.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, maintains his innocence and is fighting the ruling through appeal, branding the overall case and trial against him as a politically motivated witch hunt.
The ruling in February came after a January ruling in which Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said those cases were politically motivated as he vowed to appeal the jury's $83.3 million verdict.
The Sandoval notice comes after CNN legal analyst Jeremy Saland said prosecutors would "absolutely" like to see the former president take the stand.
In a Monday interview on CNN, hours before the trial, host Kate Bolduan and Saland discussed the witnesses expected to take the stand in Trump's trial.
Saland explained that prosecutors would love to put Trump on the hot seat and get him to "contradict himself."
"The man is so bombastic and uncontrollable that he could sink his own ship. I mean, you would love to cross-examine this former president and have him contradict himself, have him go on a tirade, alienate the jury. He's ripe for prosecution to be cross-examined," Saland said.
Last month, Trump said he "would have no problem testifying" in the case. "I didn't do anything wrong," he explained.
Trump further discussed testifying last week while speaking to reporters, telling NBC News, "Yeah, I would testify, absolutely."
"I'm testifying. I tell the truth, I mean, all I can do is tell the truth. And the truth is that there is no case," Trump said.
In addition, speculation over whether or not Trump will testify in the trial has ramped up as former assistant U.S. attorney David Katz said the Republican may take the stand in a "Hail Mary move" if he thinks the trial is going "poorly for him."
Speaking to British broadcaster Times Radio, Katz said, "He's trying to thread the needle where he doesn't infuriate the jury and he somehow appeals to them and I think his charm seems to work in some of the swing states and with his base. He is going to try to charm the jury, he may even testify. If Michael Cohen goes in pretty well and the trial otherwise goes poorly for him he might just Hail Mary take the stand."
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
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