Trump Should Not Take the Stand, Lacks 'All Self-Control': Bill Barr

Former President Donald Trump should not take the stand in his own defense if his criminal indictment goes to trial, former Attorney General Bill Barr said on Sunday. He argued that Trump lacks "all self-control" and it would be hard to prepare him.

On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury indicted the former president following an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office into an alleged hush money payment of $130,000 paid by Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 presidential election about an affair she claims she had with Trump in 2006.

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and has maintained his innocence in the case, accusing prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated "witch- hunt." Prosecutors, however, believe the payment violated campaign finance laws. He has responded to the indictment with a flurry of posts on his social media platform Truth Social attacking the district attorney's office.

While speaking on Fox News Sunday, Barr was asked if he would advise Trump to take the stand. Barr responded, "Generally I think it's a bad idea to go on the stand, I think it is a particularly bad idea for Trump because he lacks all self-control."

"It would be very difficult to prepare him, and to keep him testifying in a proven fashion," Barr continued.

While speaking to Newsweek, trial attorney Jim Hattaway said, "Trump will likely not take the stand. As I advise my clients, every word out of your mouth is a bullet that can be fired back at you. In Trump's case, it would be a machine gun of incriminating statements."

"If a client is going to testify, they have to know everything about the case. They have to be prepared for every contingency that the prosecutor will throw at them. Trump doesn't have that ability," Hattaway continued.

Throughout Bragg's investigation Trump has been routinely critical of the district attorney calling him crooked, and soft on crime. Taking to Truth Social on Saturday Trump said, "NEW CRIME STATISTICS ARE OUT IN MANHATTAN, THE PLACE REIGNED OVER BY RADICAL LEFT, SOROS BACKED, DISTRICT ATTORNEY—ALVIN BRAGG. THE NUMBERS ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER....BUT, AT LEAST HE CAN TELL HIS TRUMP HATING WIFE AND FRIENDS THAT HE IS GOING AFTER THE VERY SUCCESSFUL 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. MAGA!"

Meanwhile, Barr also said on Sunday that he believes the case "lacks any legal basis and "there's nothing inherently wrong or illegal about making a hush payment."

Trump is scheduled to turn himself in to authorities on Tuesday April 4 in New York City. After the arraignment, the former commander in chief is scheduled to make remarks from his Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago at 8:15 p.m.

While speaking about the timeline of a possible trial Hattaway also said, "Criminal cases proceed faster than civil cases, but Trump is skilled in using delay tactics. Having said that, skilled prosecutors (who don't have to worry about running up the bill) will likely squash any silly delay tactics."

"Having said that, Trump will likely be indicted in the Georgia case and the [Mar-a-Lago] documents case, so there might be delays caused by meeting the demands of those cases," concluded Hattaway.