"Absolutely taking a risk": Legal experts say Trump lawyers "afraid" his testimony could backfire

Attorneys for Donald Trump aren't looking forward to the former president's Monday testimony in his New York civil fraud trial, according to MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin. 

Speaking with "Morning Joe" co-host Willie Geist about Thursday's hearing, Rubin reported that the $250 million fraud trial isn't going well for Trump, who is facing the possible dissolution of the Trump Organization and other companies in his business empire, and his defense team fears his testimony will only hurt his case. She speculated that over the weekend the former president's lawyers will attempt to convince him against taking the stand.

"I don't think it is going particularly well," Rubin told Geist, who asked about the status of the case. "Let me resist your question to one extent: I'm not positive Donald Trump is going to testify. I can tell you, looking at you here, I know Donald Trump wants to testify but his lawyers desperately wanted to lift the gag order that's still in place. They weren't able to do so. They asked Judge [Arthur] Engoron to pause the trial, he would not do so."

She further explained that Trump's attorneys personally told her the day prior that they did not want to ask Engoron to pause the trial because they figured he would reject the request.

"That signals to me they are afraid of having their client on the stand and inches away from that principal law clerk he can't talk about when he testifies," Rubin said, noting that Trump "speechified" in the courthouse hallway Thursday instead of answering questions. 

"Our folks who were in the hallway, who follow him on the campaign trail, said he was unusually disciplined in the sense that, while he attacked and gave his usual Trumpian talking points, he would not engage with any of the press corps assembled in the hallway," Rubin added. "All this is to say, I'll believe he takes the stand when he does." 

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig speculated Friday that, in deciding to testify next week, Trump must be dismissing his lawyers' advice, outlining the massive risks he's taking in the case in doing so. 

"Any competent lawyer on the planet would tell Donald Trump, 'You are taking the fifth, you are not taking the stand," Honig began before decrying Trump attorney Alina Habba's explanation to the former president as to why he shouldn't take the stand — because he has a recently reinstated gag order — as making "no sense." 

"That gag order applies equally inside and outside the courtroom. It makes no difference if you take the stand," Honig said. "The reason you tell Donald Trump, 'You're not taking the stand' is you have four pending indictments and anything he says in this case on the stand can absolutely be used against him."

Honig noted that attorneys for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the lawsuit against Trump, would question the former president about his finances, which could reveal evidence that could be used against him in the criminal hush money case brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

"He's absolutely taking a risk by taking the stand," Honig concluded.

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Trump's civil trial, which began in early October, is set to end this month, and he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the case and previously defended his property valuations.

The New York attorney general accuses him, his sons and other Trump Organization executives of overinflating his assets to gain better loan terms and make favorable business deals. She seeks $250 million in penalties against the former president and a ban on his ability to conduct business in the state.

In a partial summary judgment ahead of the trial's start, Engoron found Trump liable for defrauding banks and insurers and ordered the dissolution of his businesses. The latter ruling was paused pending appeal, and a New York appeals court on Thursday ruled to continue the stay on the order, Rubin reported. 

The appellate court's ruling allows for Trump's businesses in the state to continue operating while under investigation. But, Rubin notes, the court denied a pause to the other relief granted to the attorney general in the summary judgment. 

That denial allows for the enforcement of provisions of Engoron's Oct. 4 order ruling that Trump and the other defendants must provide the court-appointed monitor, former Judge Barbara Jones, with information pertaining to their businesses' ongoing dealings, Rubin said.

"If Judge Jones is the agreed-upon receiver, Trump and his co-defendants owe her a bunch of information and advanced notice about their ownership structure and future activity," she added.