Former FBI director James Comey says there’s a big chance that Donald Trump will be convicted in his hush money case, adding that he’s not worried in the least about how Trumpers could respond if he’s found guilty.
“I think it’s highly likely to result in a conviction,” Comey told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday while breaking down the potential results of the trial. “A small possibility I think of a hung jury. I think there’s almost no possibility of acquittal. Again, I’ve tried a lot of cases, you can’t know a case fully unless you’ve tried it or been in the courtroom for every second.”
While Comey said hung juries are rare, he maintained that the outcome will more than likely end with Trump being found guilty.
“Hung juries are rare?” Cooper asked.
“They’re rare, but it only requires one juror to say I’m not quite there and to hold out, so that’s why I say a small possibility, a real possibility, given my experience. I would say 80% chance of conviction, given the case they’ve put together.”
At the end of the day, Comey said the case’s result will be centered around the amount of facts the prosecution has against the former president.
“Yeah, I think they’ve built a case that was not subject to cross-examination, really. It’s based on documents and texts and emails, the words of the defendant, and then they presented their most controversial witness, the cooperating bag man,” Comey said referring to Michael Cohen. “I bet they event talked about whether to call him, given the strength of their case before they put him. I could see why they decided they had to put him on. And it looked like to me that the evidence crossed over.
“You think they might not have needed to call Michael Cohen,”Cooper asked.
“I think they probably discussed it, whether they’d gotten the case in so smoothly and so many bricks to build a conviction-building that they might have hesitated to call him,” Comey responded.
As far as his thoughts about how likely of a chance it could be that Trump’s fan base and followers break out into a violent outcry, Comey said he’s not concerned.
“Do you think if the former president is found guilty, do you worry about what the response of that might be?” Cooper asked.
“No, I think it’s … I continue to worry about threats against individual poll workers and council people, I’m not worried about an uprising of violence on Donald Trump’s behalf. I don’t think you’ve seen the crowds anywhere he’s gone,” Comey said. “I think a message was sent after Jan. 6 that your life will be ruined if you engage in that kind of behavior, and his crowd are not jihadis looking to die for the orange god. They are people who are attached to him as a cult leader in a way and entertainment figure, but they’re not going to lay themselves down for him.”
Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in an alleged plot to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump maintains that he is not guilty, though he did not testify.
Final arguments are set for next week, followed by jury deliberations.
