How Donald Trump's Inner Circle Could Save Him

Former President Donald Trump will soon be facing criminals, and while many are speculating how potential witnesses could reveal damning information about him, there could be a number who might help him if they take the stand.

The Justice Department is preparing two criminal cases against Trump. One charges him with 40 felony counts related to the confidential documents found at his Mar-a-Lago property while the other indicts him on conspiracy charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, cumulating in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The grand jury that indicted him in the Jan. 6 case has already heard from dozens of witnesses, ranging from former Vice President Mike Pence to White House aides to Trump 2020 campaign officials.

But while some of Trump's associates could end up offering "incriminating" testimony about him during trial, others in his inner circle, including his former attorneys who helped advance his election claim lawsuits, might be people his defense team would call as witnesses.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahamani told Newsweek that the best witnesses for Trump would be anyone who can refute that he knew he lost the election or who can negate his intent.

"Specifically, the defense will want to call people who testify that Trump genuinely believed he lost the election, and that he thought he was pursuing a legitimate legal strategy," Rahmani said.

"It's unclear who those people will be, but if members of Trump's inner circle can testify that Trump told them he lost the election, that would be helpful," he said. "Even though those statements would be hearsay, they would qualify for the state of mind exception to the hearsay rule. Similarly, if any of his lawyers 'fall on the sword' and say they told Trump that the fake electors scheme was a sound legal theory, then Trump may be acquitted."

Former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe told Newsweek that Pence will "almost certainly" be called as a witness, but that Trump's former VP will likely be a stronger witness for the prosecution than the defense.

Although McAuliffe questioned how helpful Pence could be to Trump's legal team, the former president's attorney, John Lauro, has already said that Pence's testimony could be key to an acquittal.

"Mike Pence will be one of our best witnesses at trial," Lauro told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. "I read his book very carefully, and if he testifies consistent with his book, then President Trump will be acquitted."

McAuliffe said that for Lauro to suggest that Pence could be a defense witness "reveals the defendant's predicament that most of the individuals with knowledge of the alleged scheme to interfere with the Electoral College vote counting process appear to have implicated Trump in some fashion."

Prosecution witnesses in the election interference case, on the other hand, could include Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Trump senior campaign adviser Jason Miller and Will Russell, a former Trump White House official who is working with his 2024 campaign, according to the Washington Post.

McAuliffe said Trump's defense could also benefit from not calling any witnesses and leave the bulk of the legal work for special counsel Jack Smith's team to prove.

"It's important to remember that Trump doesn't have to call anyone as a witness," McAuliffe explained. "Criminal trials are different from civil cases. In a criminal case, Trump's lawyers can cross-examine the government's witnesses and put the prosecutors to their burden of proof without putting on an affirmative defense case."