Haberman: Trump May Testify Under One Condition

Former president wants to do so on live TV, says 'NYT' reporter
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 14, 2022 12:05 PM CDT
Haberman: Trump May Testify if It's Televised Live
Former President Trump speaks at the Minden-Tahoe Airport in Minden, Nev., on Saturday.   (AP Photo/Jose Luis Villegas, Pool, File)

A day after the House Jan. 6 panel voted to subpoena former President Trump, it remains unclear whether Trump will agree to answer questions. In an angry written response Friday, Trump didn't directly answer the question while reiterating complaints about a politically biased "Witch Hunt," per the Hill. However, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman is reporting that Trump is in favor of testifying on one unusual condition—that he's allowed to do so on live television, per Mediaite.

"He's been talking to advisers about how, you know, he would consider testifying if they would air it live," Haberman told Jake Tapper of CNN on Thursday night. "It seems hard to imagine the committee would go for that." She adds that it would be legally dangerous for Trump himself—"I also don't see a scenario where he doesn't potentially get himself into a fraud situation when he's testifying under oath"—but that one of his lawyers was "sounding people out" on the idea.

Trump's public letter to panel Chairman Bennie Thompson isn't a formal response to the subpoena request, notes the Hill. In the letter, Trump rehashed his allegations that the election was stolen. "The people of this Country will not stand for unequal justice under the law, or Liberty and Justice for some," he wrote. "Election Day is coming. We demand answers on the Crime of the Century." (More Donald Trump stories.)

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