'Suicide mission': Trump handed grim warning about E. Jean Carroll trial strategy

Donald Trump pledged that he would testify in the E. Jean Carroll damages trial on Monday, something the Washington Post concluded was akin to a legal "suicide mission."

New York defense lawyer Robert Katzberg joined with other legal experts in saying that testifying would ultimately humiliate him and he could risk contempt of court.

Judge Lewis Kaplan is “the worst possible draw for Trump,” he said, though it doesn't have anything to do with bias, simply because of the type of judge he is.

“He’s really smart and takes no guff from either side. He expects lawyers to be professional and toe the line, and if they do not, holds them accountable,” said Katzberg.

“Even if you had the most pro-Trump judge in America overseeing the trial, Donald Trump should not testify. Multiply that by a million with Lewis Kaplan on the bench,” he explained. “Given both his lack of any relevant facts as to the only issue remaining — the damages suffered by Ms. Carroll — and Donald Trump’s inability to control himself emotionally, he is begging not only to be debased before the jury, but contempt citations will be looming large.”

Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, has been complaining that the judge is targeting her, but it hasn't been helpful. Her inability to recall courtroom procedure has drawn the wrath of the judge. It has applied to both sides, but Happa simply has so little experience in trial that her claiming the judge was mean to her will likely fall on deaf ears.