(NewsNation) — Former FBI director James Comey told NewsNation on Wednesday that he expects former President Donald Trump will be convicted in the hush money case brought by the Manhattan district attorney.
“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 on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live.”
Comey said prosecutors built a strong circumstantial case that should resonate with jurors, despite the unusual nature of the charges involving a payoff to a porn star before the 2016 election.
And despite previously suggesting Biden should pardon Trump, Comey said he now believes prosecution is warranted given Trump’s actions around Jan. 6 and the Mar-a-Lago case.
Right-leaning media claims that FBI planned to kill Trump is ‘nuts’
Comey dismissed as “nuts” the right-leaning theory that the FBI planned to assassinate Trump during last year’s search of his Mar-a-Lago residence. He said references to agents being armed and permitted to use deadly force were standard operating procedures included in all such operational plans.
“If I tried to put it in the next book, the editor would strike it out and say, ‘Come on, who would believe that?'” said Comey, promoting his new crime novel “Westport.”
The claim stems from a filing by Trump’s legal team that referenced the FBI’s operational plan containing standard language about the use of deadly force being permitted when necessary. However, this boilerplate policy statement is included in all such plans as a precautionary measure.
There is no credible evidence suggesting armed agents intended to kill Trump while executing the court-authorized search for classified records. Trump’s own lawyers acknowledged he was not present at Mar-a-Lago during the search.
Comey also addressed the gap in public perception of the FBI versus local police, suggesting relentless attacks on the bureau by Trump and his allies are likely to blame.
“Part of it has to be due to the flame thrower that Donald Trump and his enablers have aimed at the FBI,” he said.
He said it’s been dispiriting for FBI agents to continually internalize these lies and have the bureau’s integrity questioned, even having it echoed back at them by neighbors in their own communities.
Partisan attacks
While Comey acknowledged that his decisions during the 2016 election enraged both Republicans and Democrats, he said he hopes to be remembered foremost as “a great father, husband and grandfather.”
Comey acknowledged facing harsh criticism from both ends of the political spectrum, saying, “I don’t care that much what the ends of our bell curve think — they’re in such bubbles that each thinks I’m on the other team’s side.”
He was referring to being vilified by the left over his decision to reopen the Hillary Clinton email investigation shortly before the 2016 election, which some think handed the election to Trump.
Comey suggested “there’s a whole swath of people in the middle” who understand how the FBI operates and “feel pretty good about it” despite the partisan attacks. He emphasized his family’s love and feeling good about his decisions as most important.
‘I’m gonna vote for Joe Biden’
Expressing grave concern over Trump’s bid to retake the White House, Comey urged voters to carefully examine the evidence of his misconduct rather than be “low information voters,” advocating they “watch videos of January 6th” and listen to Trump’s former Cabinet warn he should never return to the Oval Office.
“This election is a time for people to realize our policy disagreements … are below something that we ought to all have in common — a commitment to the rule of law,” he said.
While stating he considers himself an independent, Comey declared, “I’m gonna vote for Joe Biden because I know what’s at stake.”
‘Westport’ is the second book in a trilogy
Comey discussed his recently released crime novel “Westport,” which is the second book in a planned trilogy. He based the protagonist, Nora Carlton, on his own daughters — especially his oldest, who is currently a federal prosecutor.
Comey said he tries to draw from his real experiences as an FBI agent and federal prosecutor to authentically portray the inner workings of investigations in his fiction writing.
While the first book centered on a mob case, “Westport” sees Carlton working as a hedge fund’s general counsel when one of her colleagues is murdered, making her a prime suspect.
Comey teased that the book is “twisty” and will give readers an “interesting” look inside this murder case. He also revealed the third book coming next spring will tackle domestic terrorism and the FBI’s efforts against “white identity extremism.”
On SCOTUS recusals
Comey was uncertain whether Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas should recuse themselves from cases related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, given their apparent support for Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“It’s concerning,” he said of Alito’s display of flags associated with the riots. “I just think he ought to do a little bit of what he did before, which is account for ‘why is this there?'”