Trump's refusal to testify at impeachment trial is a 'win-win' for Democrats: Ex-US Attorney

On MSNBC Saturday, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance explained that there's a key difference between how an impeachment trial operates than a criminal trial — and that difference means that former President Donald Trump's refusal to testify is a guaranteed "win-win" for Democrats.

"You have heard Donald Trump's lawyers, who told NBC News he's not going to testify at the trial, he's not going to submit a written statement," said anchor Alex Witt. "And that's in response to lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin's request he indeed testify under oath. Can — should Democrats subpoena him?"

"This is not a criminal case, where the defendant would be able to assert a Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to avoid testimony," said Vance. "So [Democrats] actually could go ahead and subpoena. It will be interesting to see if they do. This is a 'win-win' for the Democrats. Either the president testifies with all of the problems that we know that would bring, or he doesn't respond to the Democrats' narrative, in which case they can point to that. So they win either way."

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