Christie: Trump goes to bed every night 'thinking about the sound of the jail cell door closing'
GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie said Tuesday that former President Trump goes to bed every night thinking about the threat of going to jail over his 37-count federal indictment in the classified documents case.
Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, said based on the indictment, he believes Trump would be convicted if he went to trial and ultimately face jail time. During an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” he said that to avoid going to jail, Trump may consider taking a plea deal instead of going to trial despite his claims that he is not “afraid.”
“Because part of what the Department of Justice has always done, under all of the attorneys general that I've seen in my lifetime, is if we offer you a plea, which I'm certain they will, and you turn it down and you take us to trial and you're convicted, that judge is sending you to jail,” said Christie, who has been outspoken in criticizing Trump on the presidential trail.
“And I'm telling you, no matter what he says no matter how he's bragging and going on and on, about him not being afraid, he goes to bed every night, thinking about the sound of that jail cell door closing behind them,” he said.
“So the point of all that, really is to say, when push comes to shove, I'm not so sure [Trump] won't take a plea. Because if that's the only way he knows he can avoid prison, I think he just may,” he added.
Christie announced his challenge to the former president last month. He reiterated on Tuesday that Trump’s conduct in the classified documents case was “reprehensible,” adding that the whole case could have been avoided if Trump handed over the documents when he was asked to do.
He also criticized Trump’s claim that the search on his home in Mar-a-Lago was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.
“I saw a post he put up yesterday that the raid on his on his home was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights,” Christie said. “Well, he generally has really crappy lawyers. So let me give them a little advice. When they get a court order from a United States District Court judge, it's not a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.”
“And in fact, if you have done the simple thing that I think almost any other American would have done, which would have been to get the documents back, he wouldn't be prosecuted,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment.