Former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said former President Trump is “very nervous” about the verdict in his New York hush money case, suggesting recent attacks on Judge Juan Merchan underscore those worries.
Scaramucci said Wednesday that Trump is mentally preparing himself for a guilty plea in the case. Reacting to Trump’s statement outside the courtroom that “Mother Teresa failed to refute these charges, these charges are bogus, this whole thing is bogus,” Scaramucci believes Trump is preparing both his supporters and himself for a potential guilty plea.
“I am quite confident that his lawyers instructed him in the same way that the judge instructed the jury. [Juan] It will be very difficult for Merchan not to come back with a guilty plea to several of these 34 counts,” Scaramucci said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.”
“If he gets away with it, he will be better than Mother Teresa,” he added.
As the 12-member jury began deliberating Wednesday morning in Trump’s first criminal trial, Scaramucci noted Trump’s apparent uneasiness. Jurors later made four requests to review key evidence and asked to rehear Merchan’s instructions before adjourning.
Scaramucci also observed Trump’s behavior outside the Manhattan courthouse, noting that Trump appeared “distressed” based on his hand movements.
“But if you see the accordion movement he’s doing right here, that’s his nervous tic,” Scaramucci explained. “And so, when he gets upset, he always goes to the accordion, and that shows that he’s upset.”
Trump faces 34 felony charges related to settlements paid to his former aide Michael Cohen after he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016 to keep quiet about an alleged affair. Trump has denied the alleged meeting and has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ:), owner of Trump’s social network Truth Social, were unchanged in premarket trading on Thursday.