'Never ever': Ex-mafia prosecutor obliterates Trump's defense for latest legal battle

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]somebody, they say "86 the son of a gun." I was trying to keep the language nice and clear. They don't use that term, "son of a gun." They use another term. But, that's a mob term for kill him. Kill. But, do you really think your life was in danger cuz that's the argument?

[00:00:15]>> You know, based on based on what I'm seeing out there, yeah.

[00:00:19]The People like Comey have created tremendous danger, I think, for politicians and others. He, you know, Comey is a dirty cop. He's a very dirty cop.

[00:00:32]My political sources are here tonight.

[00:00:33]Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Trump campaign adviser David Urban, and speaking of people who know crime, CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig.

[00:00:43]Elie, you're someone who's prosecuted over what? 100 mob family members?

[00:00:49]Do Does 86 mean murder in mob parlance? Tell us.

[00:00:55]Well, Caitlan, there was a point in my life where I spent the better part of my waking hours either talking face-to-face with real-world mobsters or listening to them talk each other to each other over wiretaps or body wires or bugs. I dealt with all five families, Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno, Lucchese, Colombo. I dealt with bosses, underbosses, consigliere, capos, soldiers, associates, all the way down the line.

[00:01:16]Never, ever, not once did I hear any real-world gangster use the term 86 to refer to a murder or anything. And God knows these guys had colorful lingo, but never that phrase 86. I don't know where the president's getting this from. He said from some movie. They don't use that term in Godfather or Sopranos or Goodfellas. Maybe some way old-timey movie, but that's not reality. The other piece of the interview you did, Caitlan, with the president in the Oval Office that I found really interesting, when you asked that follow-up, "Did you truly believe your life was in danger?" The first thing he said was "Probably I don't know." And then he sort of eventually said, "Well, I guess so, yeah." "Probably I don't know." Right there, that's an acquittal because prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim believed that his life was in jeopardy.

[00:02:05]And if the jury comes back at "Probably I don't know," that's a not guilty right there. I thought that was a really important moment. So, you think that could be used if this makes it to trial?

[00:02:16]You know, it would be an interesting tack, right? If you're the If you're the defense, would you try to call Donald Trump to the stand? The thing is, it doesn't actually legally depend on what the victim's state of mind was. It's more about what would a reasonable person believe. But, hey, I'd argue, "Look, the guy who was targeted that told you probably I don't know." So, uh I don't think it'll ever get to a trial.

[00:02:36]I think it'll be tossed out before that on other grounds. But, uh I'd be fascinated to see how that played out.

[00:02:41]We heard from the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about the Comey indictment today. Here's what he said.

[00:02:49]Justice Department's position that anybody who posts the numbers 8647 is subject to potential investigation and potential criminal charges. Look, every case is different and every threats case is different. You know that every time that's posted that that number is posted, you know that every time there is a threat against the president, it doesn't necessarily lead to an indictment. It depends. It depends on the investigation. It depends on on all kinds of factors. And so, it's not um people should be very wary of threatening the life of President Trump because that is a crime.

[00:03:26]Full stop.

[00:03:29]I think obviously that that statement there based on what happened Saturday night, people can can understand, you know, the concern about the president's life. But, in terms of this specifically, Elie, what was your thought on that in regards to James Comey?

[00:03:43]What Todd Blanche is doing there is anticipating what these defense motions will be. Jim Comey is going to argue selective prosecution, meaning "I'm being treated differently from other people who said the same thing." And Todd Blanche there is saying what they'll argue in court, which is "No, each case is different." Comey's going to have a separate argument. They're similar. People lump them together, but it's separate. Of