Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he might testify in his criminal trial, one day after he suggested the gag order on him would prevent him from taking the stand.
Mr. Trump, heading into another full day in the Manhattan courtroom, said he thinks the gag order is unconstitutional, though he understands it pertains only to comments outside of court.
“The gag order is not [about testifying]. The gag order stops me from talking about people and responding when they say things about me. We have people saying things about me, and I’m not allowed to respond,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump had to do some cleanup because, following court Thursday, he said: “I’m not allowed to testify. I’m under a gag order, I guess. I can’t testify.”
It’s unclear whether Mr. Trump will opt to testify in his defense against 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Prosecutors are calling a parade of witnesses to try and convince the jury that Mr. Trump, through his lawyer Michael Cohen, criminally concealed a hush payment of $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels to avoid bad press near the 2016 election.
Mr. Trump says he did nothing wrong and the case is designed to thwart his presidential campaign.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan started the trial day by clarifying that his gag order doesn’t prevent Mr. Trump from testifying, saying it came to his attention that there might have been a “misunderstanding,” according to wire reports.