But does that prove he is guilty of the civil charge that is being levied against him? Not really...more like hearsay/opinion than factual evidence of him actually committing a crime. Again, is the only evidence they have him testifying or do they have hard evidence of wrongdoing....if so then his testimony is irrelevant. If you got video of the guy robbing the bank showing his face when he walked in with a gun, you dont him to take the stand..... I am sure in opening arguments and closing arguments they can bring up trump's words and the fact that he chose the 5th....but under the law that does not prove innocence or guilt...just sways public opinion/media. At the heart of the constitutional precedent on the 5th amendment is not allowing the fact that someone took the fifth to be used to convict. defeats the purpose of even taking the 5th. Even innocent people plead the 5th because the burden of proof is on the prosecution and if they dont have it, there is no need to take the stand. remember you dont have to prove you are innocent. That is the misconception in the law.
I'm not saying Trump needs to take the stand. I'm saying: "Look at this tape members of the jury, DJT himself said only criminals plead the 5th, he's chosen to plead the 5th 400+ times. Clearly, he's expressed the motivations behind his silence."
It doesn't have to come to that. A civil case bases evidence on the balance of probability. The standard is lower than for a criminal trial. So to the extent that the evidence may lean in one direction but where a jury is still on the fence, the defendant's repetitive invoking of the 5th may result in adverse inference, tipping the balance. At least that is how I understand it.
It certainly can be mentioned in open or closing arguments where you have more leeway to make a case. But I am pretty sure this is never going to trial so.....it is moot.
GOPers now want Trump to run for President from prison. Sounds like they know where he will be shortly.
"Today Allen Weisselberg admitted in Court that he used his position at the Trump Organization to bilk taxpayers and enrich himself," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. "This plea agreement directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial against the corporation." Former CFO of Trump Organization pleads guilty for his role in tax fraud scheme and agrees to testify against company https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/18/politics/allen-weisselberg-pleads-guilty/
I think he can still run for President from prison as long as an appeal of a conviction is in place...I'm not a lawyer so I could be completely wrong. Yet, I do remember a politician (a mayor) that was already on a ballot and then "arrested"...he then won but was later disqualified after being convicted. More importantly, with DeSantis currently licking his chops, and other GOP in other states getting behind him...he only needs to "pretend" to be upset about what's happening to Trump to ensure he'll get the GOP nomination. Simply... DeSantis GOP - Good chance they'll win the Oval Office Trump GOP - Good chance they'll lose if they're are criminal cases against Trump especially if Biden doesn't run and someone (male or female) that's young decides to run for the Democrats while the GOP focuses on Biden just as they did in error in 2020 when they were still focused on Obama & Hilary. wrbtrader