Donald Trump Corrects His Own Claim

Former President Donald Trump corrected his own claim outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday about being prevented from testifying at his own trial.

Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, became the first former president in U.S. history to stand trial in a criminal case last month. Following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, Trump was indicted in March 2023 on 34 charges of allegedly falsifying business records relating to hush money payments that were made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels alleges she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he has denied. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and said the case against him is politically motivated.

Standing outside the courtroom on Friday, Trump responded to a reporter asking if the gag order Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, imposed on the former president is stopping him from testifying.

"No. It won't stop me from testifying. The gag order is not for testifying. The gag order stops me from talking about people and responding when they say things about me," he said, adding that Merchan "has taken away my constitutional right."

However, on Thursday, Trump claimed he was barred from testifying because of the gag order.

"I'm not allowed to testify. I'm under a gag order. I guess, right?" Trump told reporters at the end of court. "I'm not allowed to testify, because this judge, who's totally conflicted, has me under an unconstitutional gag order."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

Merchan also confirmed to Trump in court on Friday that he can testify, telling the former president: "I want to stress Mr. Trump that you have the absolute right to testify," according to Newsweek's Katherine Fung who is inside the courtroom.

When speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump complained that "if somebody says something about me and I'm not allowed to respond—that's never happened before."

The gag order prevents Trump from speaking publicly about certain people involved in the case including jurors and witnesses, but it excludes Merchan and Bragg.

The order was imposed to protect people from potential verbal attacks from Trump in an effort to not risk derailing the proceedings. However, the former president has claimed that it infringes on his First Amendment right and there has been contention surrounding comments from Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen, who is expected to serve as a star witness, against his former boss while Trump can't respond.

Trump has already been fined $9,000 for breaking the gag order nine separate times. There was a hearing on Thursday to consider four more potential violations, with most of the violations and potential violations targeting Cohen. Merchan warned Trump that he could face jail time if he continues to ignore the gag order.