Trump's Secret Service boast puts him at new risk if he testifies in Jan. 6 trial: expert

Should Donald Trump decide to take the stand in the federal trial where he faces charges of voting obstruction, he may see his previous testimony impeached by new comments he made about Jan. 6.

Reacting to boasts made by the former president to ABC's Jonathan Karl in a newly released audio tape, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin stated Trump not only confirmed testimony former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson made to a House select committee, but he's also set himself up to have his words thrown back in his face on the stand.

Speaking with host Ana Cabrera, Rubin pointed out that Trump's latest comments in which he talks about what happened on Jan. 6 — including claims that he wanted to join the crowd, but his Secret Service stopped him — may be news to special counsel Jack Smith, and they could play a major role in the trial expected to start in March in Washington, D.C.

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"First of all, the tape, as far as I know, is not evidence in the case yet, nor has it been brought to any court's attention. So let's stay tuned to see how special counsel Jack Smith and his team actually use this audiotape," she told the host.

"This not only corroborates Cassidy Hutchinson but, if you listen to what he said at the end of that, when he says 'When I got back to the White House, I wanted to go back,' we know, thanks to timelines and thanks to evidence that the January 6th committee brought out, that at 1:24 that afternoon, when he arrived back at the White House, he was informed that the Capitol had been breached," she continued.

"For him to say now that he wanted to go back, and yet there's 187 minutes of inaction, is somewhat at odds with itself," she elaborated. "If Donald Trump were to take the stand in this case, I would expect prosecutors to use that tape to impeach the credibility of his testimony."

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