Trump has a 'perilous' plan that would make jail time 'a lot more likely': legal expert

Donald Trump could be facing a jail sentence if he's found guilty in his first criminal case, and the former president has a plan to make that much more likely, according to a legal expert.

CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen, who also served as one of the impeachment lawyers for House Democrats and White House ethics czar, appeared on the network on Sunday to discuss Monday's opening statements in the case over bookkeeping records violations stemming from "hush money" payments allegedly made to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 election.

"The former president has said that he would consider testifying himself. If you were the former president's attorneys, what would you be telling him?" the host asked.

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"I would tell him if you do that, I'm quitting. I would throw my body in front of the speeding train because it's a terrible idea," Eisen said. Asked to elaborate, he suggested that Trump "cannot open his mouth without risking a lie."

"The Washington Post found over 31,000 lies during pendency of his presidency," he noted. "He's standing there coming out of court every day saying the most outrageous, inaccurate, and false things, just a few feet away from where we reporters and analysts are sitting and watching."

The lawyer then added, "So I think it's extremely perilous that Donald trump makes his own case worse, compromises himself in front of the jury. That's in the liability phase. That's in terms of guilty or not. But then there's a sentencing that will come after that if he is held guilty. And the one thing judges hate more than anything else is when a defendant gets on the stand and lies to them and their juries."

Eisen noted that Trump testifying "considerably worsens his peril at sentencing, which I already think is significant."

While Trump already runs the risk of jail, Eisen added, "If he testifies, he makes that a lot more likely."

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