Why Mark Meadows made a 'very risky' move in testifying: ex-prosecutor

Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows made a "very, very risky" move to make comments under oath before trial, according to an attorney and former prosecutor.

Christopher M. Mattei appeared on MSNBC's American Voices with Alicia Menendez on Saturday, and was asked why Meadows would risk taking the stand for four hours for a procedural hearing.

"Very, very risky to ever have somebody who has been charged with the types of serious crimes that Mark Meadows has been charged with take the stand under oath," he said. "I think what his legal team probably thought was that he had already done well in the run up to the Jack Smith indictment, and escaped indictment there."

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Mattei further noted that the gamble may have been worth it since Meadows' legal defense "is not going to be contesting facts, but rather to say that everything he did was within his responsibilities as chief of staff."

"As long as he maintains that position, he doesn't have to fight over the facts. But it is a high risk strategy, because anytime somebody takes the stand in a criminal proceeding, all that evidence can be used against them," he said. "I think it would be much riskier to do that in front of the jury, which would have the opportunity to assess his credibility right there in the courtroom. And that's often a very uncomfortable situation."

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