This week, Tom Goldstein took the stand to testify in his own defense. The superstar Supreme Court advocate and founder of SCOTUSblog is charged with tax evasion and false statements on a loan application, among other charges.

On direct, Goldstein presented a narrative of financial mismanagement and reliance on advisers rather than willful tax crimes—only to face a credibility-centered cross-examination emphasizing lavish spending and alleged past deceptions.

Closing arguments could occur next week—and Goldstein’s defense strategy should become fully clear, with jury deliberations to follow. Some key reportage, below the fold.

Jared Foretek, Affairs, Spending Come Out In Goldstein Cross-Examination, Law360 Pulse (Feb. 12, 2026):

[On cross-examination, t]he prosecutor also hammered Goldstein with his spending. . . .

During the years he was behind on his taxes, according to the prosecutor, Goldstein had also bought a $200,000 Audemars Piguet watch and two Bentleys, one with an $8,000 rotating clock.

Holly Barker, Goldstein Grilled on Past Lies, Accused of Playing the Victim, Bloomberg Law (Feb. 12, 2026):

Goldstein later told the jury that spending money on something else when he had outstanding tax debt was “stupid, but not a crime.”

“It’s obviously humiliating now,” he said.

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman, “Poker Game?”: Legal World Reacts to Tom Goldstein’s Jury Trial Testimony, Law.com (Feb. 12, 2026):

“His decision to testify aligns with his all-in approach,” Michael Weinstein, a Cole Schotz member, said Thursday of his former American University Washington College of Law classmate Goldstein. “He believes he is his own best advocate.”