'I'm testifying': Trump suggests he'll take the stand in criminal hush money trial

Former President Donald Trump Friday suggested he might take the stand in the criminal hush money case slated to begin in New York City next week.

"Do you plan to testify in your trial in New York," a reporter asked the former president at his Mar-a-Lago press conference.

"Yeah, I would testify," Trump said. "That's not a trial, that's a scam."

Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records tied to $130,000 Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels for her silence ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump echoed Friday his assertion that the criminal cases against him — he faces four in New York, Washington D.C., Georgia and Florida — constituted election interference designed to torpedo his 2024 campaign.

"It's a shame, what they've done is a shame," Trump said. "What they're doing is a crime."

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Trump also accused Justice Juan Merchan, the criminal court judge overseeing the case, of political bias.

Asked if it would be risky to testify, Trump replied, "I'm testifying...all I can do is tell the truth."