Bill Barr Says Trump Taking The Stand Is A Very Bad Idea: 'Lacks All Self-Control'

Former Attorney General William Barr said he would not advise Donald Trump to attempt to defend himself on the witness stand because the former president “lacks all self-control.”

In the wake of Trump’s indictment by the Manhattan district attorney on Thursday, Barr discussed the case on “Fox News Sunday.” Host Shannon Bream asked Barr if he would put Trump on the stand if he were representing him at a potential trial. 

“I’m not his lawyer. Generally, I think it’s a bad idea to go on the stand, and I think it’s a particularly bad idea for Trump, because he lacks all self-control, and it would be very difficult to prepare him and keep him testifying in a prudent fashion,” Barr replied.

Trump was indicted last week for his role in a 2016 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, a porn actor who claims she had an affair with him a decade earlier. Daniels was paid $130,000 in exchange for her silence about the affair in the days before the 2016 election.

The former president is also facing multiple other state and federal investigations over his business dealings, efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents.

Barr was a longtime ally of Trump, but he became more publicly critical of the former president following the 2020 election, after which he has said Trump became “detached from reality.”

However, in Sunday’s interview, Barr characterized the Manhattan DA’s case against Trump as politically motivated, aligning with rhetoric from Trump and his backers.