Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Thursday that the recent ruling in former President Trump’s New York hush money lawsuit will give Americans “confidence” over time.
“I think that as time goes on, America will have more and more confidence in the jury’s outcome,” the former 2024 Republican presidential primary candidate said in an interview with CNN’s John Berman on “CNN News Central.”
Trump became the first former US president to be convicted after a jury found him guilty last week of all charges of falsifying business records to hide an alleged affair during the 2016 election campaign.
“I’m confident that the 12 people will deliver a fair and impartial verdict, and ultimately I hope that there will be more trust or less distrust in our justice system,” said Hutchinson, who is also a former federal prosecutor.
Shortly after the verdict was read in Trump’s hush money lawsuit last week, the former president slammed the trial.
“This has been a rigged and dishonorable trial. The real verdict will be given by the American people on November 5th. The American people know what happened here, everybody knows what happened here,” Trump said.
Many prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, have criticized the ruling.
“It’s horrible. What this shows is that they can go after a former president on these ridiculous charges and get a conviction, they can go after anybody,” Rubio said on Fox News’ “Hannity” last week.
“And most people can’t afford to fight these diseases.”
In a statement released shortly after the verdict was handed down, Johnson called it a “shameful day in American history.”
“The American people know, of course, that this is a legal war and that it is dangerous,” he added. “President Trump will, of course, appeal this absurd ruling, and he will win.”
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