Former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said that former President Trump is “super nervous” about the verdict in his New York hush-money case, suggesting recent attacks against Judge Juan Merchan emphasize this anxiety.
Scaramucci claimed on Wednesday that Trump is mentally preparing for a guilty plea in the case. Reacting to Trump’s statement outside the courtroom that “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges, these charges are rigged, the whole thing is rigged,” Scaramucci believes that Trump is preparing both his supporters and himself for a potential guilty plea.
“I’m pretty confident that his lawyers have instructed him that the way the jury was instructed by Judge [Juan] Merchan is going to be very tough for them not to come back with some guilty plea on several of those 34 counts,” Scaramucci said during his appearance on “The Hill on NewsNation.”
“If he gets off, then he’s better than Mother Teresa,” he added.
As the 12-person jury began deliberating on Trump’s first criminal case on Wednesday morning, Scaramucci noted Trump’s visible anxiety. The jury later made four requests to review key pieces of testimony and asked to rehear Merchan’s instructions before adjourning for the day.
Scaramucci also observed Trump’s behavior outside the Manhattan courthouse, pointing out that Trump appeared “bummed out” based on his hand movements.
“But if you see that accordion move that he’s doing right there, that’s a nervous tic of his,” Scaramucci explained. “And so, when he gets upset, he always goes to the accordion move and so that’s a tell that he’s bummed out.”
Trump is facing 34 felony charges related to reimbursements made to his former fixer Michael Cohen after paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016 to stay silent about an alleged affair. Trump has denied the alleged encounter and has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ:DJT), the owner of Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, remained flat in Thursday’s premarket.