Comey: Trump election interference case ‘much stronger than I imagined’
Comey: Trump election interference case ‘much stronger than I imagined’
Former FBI Director James Comey weighed in on former President Trump’s criminal hush money case Wednesday, saying it was “much stronger” than he thought.
“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,” Comey told NewsNation’s Dan Abrams on Wednesday. “They had a much stronger case than I imagined.”
The former Trump official, who was removed from his post in 2017, also suggested there is an “overwhelming chance” his former boss would be convicted in the case.
“There’s an overwhelming chance of a conviction, a significant but much smaller chance of a hung jury and zero chance of an acquittal,” Comey said.
The Manhattan trial, the first criminal trial of a sitting or former president, began to wrap up earlier this week, as both sides rested their case Tuesday. Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, scheduled closing arguments for next week, and the jury deliberations will follow.
The former president is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to reimbursements to his former fixer, Michael Cohen, who paid an adult film actor $130,000 prior to the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.
Comey also criticized Trump in an interview on MSNBC on Tuesday, claiming he thinks the former president is “coming for” the FBI and the Justice Department if he returns 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,” the former FBI official said. “So, he’s coming for them, and that’s a danger for all Americans.”
“He’s going to put people in positions in those organizations. He didn’t have all-stars the last time. He’ll have the bottom of the barrel this time, but people who will want to do his will — and that should worry every American,” he added. “This election matters because of a reason like that.”
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