Former FBI Director James Comey commented on the criminal hush money case involving former President Trump, stating that the case was “much stronger” than he initially believed.
In an interview with NewsNation’s Dan Abrams on Wednesday, Comey remarked, “I wasn’t sure that I would have [brought the case] when I read the indictment, but now having seen the case, I’m not sure — after investigating it — how they wouldn’t bring it. They had a much stronger case than I imagined.”
Comey, who served as FBI Director until his dismissal in 2017, also expressed confidence in the likelihood of a conviction for his former boss, stating, “There’s an overwhelming chance of a conviction, a significant but much smaller chance of a hung jury and zero chance of an acquittal.”
The ongoing Manhattan trial marks the first criminal trial of a sitting or former president. With both sides having rested their case on Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled closing arguments for next week, after which jury deliberations will commence.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to reimbursements made to his former fixer, Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 to an adult film actor prior to the 2016 election to conceal an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006, an accusation Trump has denied.
In addition to his remarks on the case, Comey criticized Trump’s intentions towards the FBI and the Justice Department in an interview on MSNBC, expressing concern that Trump would seek to undermine these institutions if he were to return to the White House.
“Serious for the Justice Department and the FBI, because Trump is coming for those institutions. He knows their power, and I think he has regrets that he didn’t work hard enough to corrupt them last time,” Comey stated. “So, he’s coming for them, and that’s a danger for all Americans.”
