'Fire and brimstone': Legal expert explains how Trump could hurt himself by testifying
If Trump goes scorched earth in court when he testifies under oath — it will backfire.
After finishing his own grilling on the witness seat in the Trump Organization's $250 million fraud trial, former president Donald Trump's son Eric billed his father's upcoming day in court as a chance to bring the smoke.
"My father is certainly going to be here," Eric told reporters. "He's fired up to be here. He thinks this is one of the most incredible injustices that he's ever seen."
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In an appearance on CNN's "Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer, former federal prosecutor Shanlon “Shan” Wu warned that when the former president testifies under oath, he would do himself many favors by tamping down the bluster.
"If former President Trump wants to get up there and be all fire and brimstone, make a lot of speeches, it's not going to go very well for him," he said. "Because a jury might care about that, the press does, but a judge is not going to be interested in that."
Should Trump do that in court, Wu believes Judge Arthur Engoron will be hammering his gavel and reining him in.
"He's going to start to probably warn Trump to answer the questions rather than meandering off into the wilderness there," Wu continued. "So that kind of attitude is not really the best one to have."
The ideal witness to keep the judge from drawing scorn would maintain composure and appear to be lending a helping hand on the stand.
"You want to be clear, you want to be calm, and sound like you're being helpful," he said.
As to how Trump intends to testify, Wu believes it will be similar to his sons Eric and Don Jr. who overall admitted they were had limited involvement in the accounting books and practices of their real estate empire.
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