Donald Trump's hush money trial starts in earnest on Monday morning and the question of whether he will take the stand in his own defense still lingers in the air as he digests what the prosecution will offer up if he puts himself in the position to be cross-examined.
After the jury was selected on Friday, the former president sat through a procedural hearing that one criminal defense attorney claimed "rattled" the former president based upon his demeanor after leaving the courthouse following the Sandoval hearing.
At issue is a warning from prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office explaining the range of Trump's other legal problems, including details about his devastating courtroom losses to writer E. Jean Carroll that will be not only be shared with the jury, but also the threat he will be pressed to explain himself.
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Speaking with CNN, attorney Stacey Schneider claimed Trump has good reason to avoid putting himself in a position where he will be grilled by the prosecution.
With regard to Friday's hearing and Trump's courthouse rant afterward, she explained, "I think there is an emotional tilt to what the president was dealing with just a few minutes before he came out with that statement."
“Defendants coming out of a Sandoval hearing are not pleased; it’s just the nature of the hearing," she elaborated. "It’s the worst preview of what could come if you take the stand. It’s rattling. I think he was rattled.”
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