Anthony Scaramucci argued Monday that prosecutors in former President Trump’s criminal hush money trial had “proved the case,” saying it is likely the former president could be found guilty.
The prosecution wound down its arguments on Monday with the examination of former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen. The prosecution is expected to rest after Cohen’s testimony is completed, though questions were raised over the star witness’s reliability after Cohen admitted during cross-examination that he stole from the Trump Organization.
Scaramucci, the former Trump White House communications director, said in a CNN interview with Jake Tapper that those concerns shouldn’t get in the way of the jury finding Trump guilty.
“I think the facts of the case are pretty prima facia,” he said. “Money got spent and money was misallocated. And was there fraud perpetrated to cover this, prior to the election?”
“The winning argument here is: Here are the facts of the case. Here are the receipts of the case. Do you think the defendant is guilty or innocent based on the facts? And is Mr. Cohen lying to you right now and right here?” he continued.
“And I don’t think there’s one of those 12 juror is going to say he’s lying, because, remember, he’s saying stuff that hurts him,” he added.
Trump faces charges that he falsified business documents amid an attempt to cover up past affairs in the weeks before the 2016 election. Cohen facilitated hush money payments to hide stories of the affairs, prosecutors allege.
“These guys were hiding something. They put Michael in jail for this. And now they have Mr. Trump on trial for this. They were hiding something,” Scaramucci said.
“Is it a criminal act? I think it is,” he continued. “And the question is, what will the 12 jurors think it is? And I think they proved the case!”
It’s unknown if Trump’s attorneys will put on a full defense in the case. If they choose not to, the case could go to a jury as soon as this week.
