Donald Trump Getting 'Wrong' Advice from Lawyer Alina Habba: Ex-Prosecutor

Former federal prosecutor Shan Wu doesn't understand why Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba went on Fox News last Friday and said she doesn't want her client to take the stand on Monday.

In an appearance with host Amara Walker on CNN's This Morning Weekend, Wu, a legal analyst who served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno in the Clinton administration, was asked what he expected from Trump in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom as he defends himself in the $250 million financial fraud trial.

The former president is accused of filing fraudulent financial statements inflating the value of his New York properties for years. Engoron has already ruled that Trump committed fraud while filing his financial statements. The upcoming proceedings will now mainly determine the size of the penalty against Trump and his real estate company.

On Sunday afternoon, Trump reversed course, posting on Truth Social, his social media platform, that he will not testify Monday. Trump wrote that he "VERY SUCCESSFULLY & CONCLUSIVELY" testified last month and saw no need to appear again.

He announced he was canceling his testimony in an all-capital letters statement, writing: "I WILL NOT BE TESTIFYING ON MONDAY."

On Sunday morning, Wu told Walker, "A lot could go wrong (in a Trump testimony); he's a bad witness for everybody, he meanders a lot when he's on direct, he meanders a lot on cross, if he gets hostile on cross that's not a very good look for him. It is a bench trial, it could be less damaging than before a jury, and it may mean nothing because the judge has already decided the important parts of the case."

He then mentioned Habba's Friday appearance on Fox where she told host Martha MacCallum that she advised Trump to boycott appearing and that he is ignoring that advice.

Wu laughed when he said, "First of all, usually, you don't get in front of the cameras and say what you advise the client—it's kind of privileged."

Wu continued, "Second of all, it seems wrong. I mean, no one is going to find he violated a gag order by testifying. I mean: apples and oranges. The gag order is don't talk about the trial outside of the courtroom, not that you're not allowed to testify. So it just seems odd."

When asked what he would advise Trump to say when he takes the stand, Wu said he would tell the former president to "lean into" the statements made by New York University Stern School of Business research professor Eli Bartov.

Newsweek has reached out to Habba for additional comment via email.

On Thursday, Bartov told the New York court that there is "no evidence whatsoever" that Trump or his family committed fraud with their financial documents. On Friday, it was revealed that Bartov was paid $1,350 an hour for his services, and that he worked about 650 hours on the case to defend the former president, putting his total at $877,500.

Via an emailed response, Wu told Newsweek on Sunday that Trump could testify Monday about how he distanced himself from reviewing the accuracy of financial statements and how he left that to others.

"I would have him lean into his confidence in both overstated values of properties as well the 'accounting is more art than science' testimony of his accounting expert," he said.

Wu said, however, he expects a more defensive approach from Trump on the stand.

"Trump will meander and be huffy and hostile on cross-examination especially if the judge admonishes him or asks any questions, which judges sometimes will do," he added.

Update 12/10/23, 4:11 p.m. ET. This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 12/10/23, 3:39 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Wu.