Trump on trial: New York vs. Donald Trump Day 5 Highlights

MSNBC
23 Apr 202443:25

Summary

TLDRThe transcript details the opening statements in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump, highlighting the tense atmosphere in the courtroom, the demeanor of the judge, and the strategies employed by both the prosecution and defense. The prosecution focuses on alleged illegal payments made to silence individuals during Trump's presidential campaign, arguing that these constituted a criminal conspiracy to influence the election. The defense, led by Todd Blanche, attempts to sow doubt about the nature of the payments and the character of witnesses like Stormy Daniels. Notably, Blanche faces multiple objections from the prosecution, which are sustained by the judge, potentially impacting the narrative presented to the jury. The summary also touches on the judge's gag order, which prohibits Trump from making public statements about the case's witnesses and jurors, and the upcoming hearing regarding alleged violations of this order.

Takeaways

  • 🏛️ The trial is taking place in Manhattan, with the courtroom described as tense and not smelling pleasant, indicating the high-stress environment.
  • 👮‍♂️ Police officers in the courtroom are noted to be working hard and appearing stressed, reflecting the seriousness of the proceedings.
  • 🗣️ Judge Moore is characterized as soft-spoken with a pleasant voice, which may suggest an impartial and composed demeanor.
  • 📣 The prosecutor, Matthew Colangelo, is compared to Seth Meyers in his speaking style, which could imply a clear and potentially engaging manner of presentation.
  • 📱 Witness David Packer inadvertently revealed his full phone number in court, highlighting a moment of human error amidst the formalities of the trial.
  • 👴 Former President Donald Trump is observed to look older and seemingly miserable, which may be interpreted as the emotional toll of the trial on the defendant.
  • 📋 The prosecution presented detailed evidence of financial transactions, suggesting a well-prepared case against the Trump Organization's alleged illegal activities.
  • 💸 It is revealed that Trump did not negotiate down the price of the reimbursement to Michael Cohen, which the prosecution argues indicates the importance of hiding the true nature of the payment.
  • 🔍 The defense attempts to argue that the transactions were not related to the election and that Trump was merely paying for legal services, despite the prosecution's contrary evidence.
  • 🚫 The gag order in place for Trump is a significant aspect of the case, with the prosecution alleging violations that could lead to contempt of court charges.
  • ⏰ The trial's proceedings are closely watched, with interruptions and objections highlighting the contentious nature of the arguments between the prosecution and defense.

Q & A

  • What was the general atmosphere in the courtroom during the opening statements of the trial?

    -The atmosphere in the courtroom was described as tense, with a smell of old suits and stale breath. The police officers appeared to be working hard and seemed stressed.

  • How would you describe Judge Moore's demeanor during the trial?

    -Judge Moore was characterized as soft-spoken with a voice that was considered universally pleasant.

  • What unexpected event occurred during the testimony of the first witness, David Packer?

    -David Packer accidentally gave out his entire phone number in court while trying to remember the last four digits when asked by the prosecutor.

  • How did the reporter describe the appearance and demeanor of former President Donald Trump during the trial?

    -The reporter noted that Donald Trump looked a lot older than he used to and seemed miserable to be there, which the reporter considered a reasonable reaction given the circumstances.

  • What was the significance of the handwritten notes by Allen Weisselberg in the context of the trial?

    -Allen Weisselberg's handwritten notes were significant because they detailed the steps taken to disguise the repayment of the Stormy Daniels hush money as income, rather than a reimbursement, which is a key part of the prosecution's case.

  • What was the role of the National Enquirer in the alleged criminal conspiracy?

    -The National Enquirer, under the direction of its CEO David Pecker, was allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy to publish positive stories about Trump, suppress negative stories about him, and pay individuals to keep quiet about their stories, all to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

  • Why was the defense's mention of Michael Cohen's payment to Stormy Daniels met with an objection from the prosecution?

    -The prosecution objected because the defense was attempting to argue that the payment was not illegal, which is a legal conclusion and not a fact. The judge sustained the objection as it was not relevant to the charges at hand.

  • What was the purpose of the gag order imposed on Donald Trump in this criminal case?

    -The gag order was imposed to prevent Donald Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in the criminal proceeding.

  • What could be the potential consequences if Donald Trump is found to be in violation of the gag order?

    -If found in violation of the gag order, Donald Trump could be fined up to a thousand dollars for each violation, and potentially face up to thirty days in jail.

  • How did the defense attorney, Todd Blanche, approach the opening statements despite the interruptions and objections?

    -Todd Blanche, despite the interruptions, used the objections as a tactic to plant seeds of doubt in the jurors' minds about the case, knowing that once information is presented, it cannot be unheard by the jury.

  • What was the significance of the National Enquirer's cover stories during the 2016 election in relation to the alleged criminal conspiracy?

    -The National Enquirer's cover stories, which were heavily pro-Trump and negative towards his rivals, were part of the alleged criminal scheme to influence the election. The covers were seen by potentially millions of Americans, making them a significant factor in the alleged conspiracy.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Courtroom Atmosphere and Donald Trump's Appearance

The first paragraph describes the author's experience in the Manhattan courthouse, noting the tense atmosphere and the hardworking, stressed police officers. It highlights Judge Moore's pleasant voice and the prosecutor's speaking style. An amusing incident is mentioned where a witness accidentally reveals his phone number in court. The author comments on former President Donald Trump's aged appearance and his seeming discomfort as a defendant charged with felonies. The description of the courtroom setting is used to convey the gravity of the situation and the unenviable position of all involved, except for the journalists covering the historic trial.

05:00

💸 Financial Scheme Involving Michael Cohen and Allen Weisselberg

This paragraph delves into the financial aspect of the case, detailing how Michael Cohen was to be reimbursed for the payment to Stormy Daniels. The plan was to disguise the payment as income rather than a reimbursement, which involved cooking the books. The total repayment amount was $420,000, which included a bonus and an amount to cover taxes. The prosecution claims to have notes detailing this arrangement, which were taken by Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer. The paragraph emphasizes the complexity of the financial scheme and the evidence that the prosecution has to support their case.

10:02

🤝 Trump's Approval of Repayment and Defense Strategy

The third paragraph discusses the prosecution's claim that Trump approved the repayment amount to Cohen, which was inflated to disguise the nature of the payment to Stormy Daniels. The paragraph contrasts Trump's usual frugality in business with his willingness to pay a large sum to Cohen, suggesting the importance of hiding the true nature of the payment. The defense, however, argues that the payment was for legal services and not related to the alleged conspiracy. The paragraph also includes commentary from legal experts discussing the significance of the written notes and the potential impact on the case.

15:02

🚫 Non-Disclosure Agreements and Election Influence

The fourth paragraph focuses on the prosecution's argument that the non-disclosure agreements were part of a criminal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election. It discusses how certain individuals were paid to remain silent about their stories until after the election. The paragraph outlines the defense's counterargument that the payments were not related to the election and were made for legal services. The crux of the argument is whether the release of individuals from their agreements after the election indicates a mission to influence the election rather than to protect Trump's brand or family.

20:02

🗣️ David Pecker's Testimony on Tabloid Journalism and Payments

In this paragraph, David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc., testifies about his role and the practices of his company, which published the National Enquirer. Pecker speaks to his editorial control over the publication, particularly when it comes to stories involving famous individuals. The prosecution highlights unusual payments made by Pecker's company to individuals with stories about Trump, suggesting that these payments were part of a coordinated effort to protect Trump's image during the election. The paragraph emphasizes the disparity between typical payments for stories and those made in this case, indicating a potential conspiracy.

25:03

📰 Influence of the National Enquirer and Trump's Legal Defense

The final paragraph discusses the potential influence of the National Enquirer during the 2016 election, despite its declining circulation numbers. It highlights the magazine's cover stories, which were heavily in favor of Trump and potentially reached millions of Americans. The paragraph also covers the defense's argument that entering into nondisclosure agreements is legal and that Trump was a victim of extortion attempts. The defense team's strategy and the interruptions during their opening statement are analyzed, with suggestions that the objections made by the prosecution may have planted seeds of doubt in the jury's mind.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Courtroom

A courtroom is a room where legal trials and hearings take place. In the context of the video, it is the setting where the criminal trial of the former president is occurring. The atmosphere is described as tense, with a focus on the serious nature of the proceedings.

💡Prosecutor

A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in a criminal trial, responsible for presenting the case against the defendant. In the video, Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo is mentioned as speaking in a manner similar to Seth Meyers, indicating a potentially serious yet approachable demeanor.

💡Donald Trump

Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, is the central figure in this video's criminal trial. His appearance and demeanor in the courtroom are described, and he is portrayed as being charged with multiple felonies.

💡Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

A non-disclosure agreement is a legal contract that establishes a confidential relationship between parties, typically used to protect sensitive information from being disclosed. In the video, it is mentioned in relation to payments made to silence individuals and its role in the alleged criminal conspiracy.

💡Allen Weisselberg

Allen Weisselberg is the former Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization. He is highlighted in the video for his involvement in the financial arrangements to disguise payments, which are central to the criminal case against Donald Trump.

💡Stormy Daniels

Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, is a key figure in the video as she was allegedly paid to remain silent about an affair with Donald Trump. Her name is associated with the payment scandal that is part of the criminal case.

💡Criminal Conspiracy

A criminal conspiracy refers to an agreement between two or more persons to commit a criminal act. In the video, it is suggested that there was a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election through illegal payments and the concealment of information.

💡Gag Order

A gag order is a legal restraint that prevents certain information from being publicly disclosed. In the context of the video, a gag order is in place to prevent Donald Trump from making public statements about witnesses or the trial, which prosecutors argue he has violated.

💡Contempt of Court

Contempt of court is an act of disobedience or defiance towards a court's authority, which can result in legal consequences. The video discusses the potential for Donald Trump to be held in contempt for violating the gag order, which could lead to fines or jail time.

💡Election Influence

Election influence refers to the act of affecting the outcome of an election, often through illegal or unethical means. The video's narrative revolves around an alleged criminal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election in Donald Trump's favor.

💡Tabloid Journalism

Tabloid journalism is a type of sensationalist reporting often found in newspapers and magazines that focus on sensational stories. The video discusses how the National Enquirer, a tabloid publication, was allegedly involved in the criminal conspiracy by publishing stories favorable to Donald Trump.

Highlights

The courtroom for the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump is described as tense, with a smell of old suits and stale breath.

Police officers securing the courtroom are reported to be working hard and appear very stressed.

Judge Moore is characterized as soft-spoken with a pleasant voice.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo's speaking style is compared to that of Seth Meyers.

Witness David Packer accidentally recited his entire phone number in court while trying to recall the last four digits.

Former President Trump appeared older and seemingly miserable during the trial.

The courtroom is described as bare bones, elegant, and with unflattering lighting.

Journalists are noted as being the only ones who would want to be present at the historic trial.

Michael Cohen's reimbursement for the Stormy Daniels payoff was disguised as income payments to avoid implicating Trump.

Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization's CFO, took notes detailing the financial arrangement to disguise the payoff.

Trump's approval of the repayment amount for the Stormy Daniels payment is a key point in the trial.

The defense argues that Trump's frugality indicates the payment was for a different reason, not the one alleged by the prosecution.

The prosecution claims the Trump Organization paid to silence individuals to influence the 2016 election.

David Pecker, former CEO of American Media Inc, had the final say on publishing decisions, including which stories ran.

The National Enquirer's covers during the 2016 election were highly favorable to Trump, which could have influenced public opinion.

Trump's defense attorney, Todd Blanche, faced multiple objections and interruptions during his opening statements.

The judge may find Trump in contempt of court for violating a gag order by attacking potential witnesses and jurors.

Transcripts

00:01

i was at the courthouse today in manhattan i was in

00:02

the courtroom for opening statements for this first

00:06

criminal trial of former president i can report first

00:08

hand that the court room smells like old suit and stale breath

00:14

haha i can report that the police officers who police the

00:17

courtroom are working very hard and they appear to be very

00:20

stressed

00:21

i can report that judge moore shot is soft-spoken and has

00:25

what i think would be universally considered to be a

00:28

pleasant voice i can report that prosecutor matthew

00:31

colangelo speaks exactly like seth meyers speaks when seth

00:35

meyers is not telling jokes i can tell you that the first

00:39

witness david packer accidentally gave out his whole

00:42

phone number today when the prosecutor just asked him to

00:45

confirm the last four digits he was trying to remember the

00:48

last four digits and in order to get there in his head

00:50

he said the whole number out loud and loops didn't mean to

00:53

do that i can report that former president donald trump

00:57

looks a lot older than he used to

01:00

and that it seems to me and my subjective take that he knew

01:05

he seemed miserable to be but you know

01:08

i look a lot older than that used and i think anybody's got

01:12

a right to look miserable when they're sitting in a courtroom

01:14

charged with dozens of felonies at it as a criminal defendant

01:18

the courtroom is bare bones it is not large it is an

01:23

elegant it has an flattering lighting like i said it does

01:27

not smell good and everybody is very tense

01:31

what i mean to present to you with all of this information

01:35

is that given the choice nobody would want to be there

01:39

except of course journalists and reporters covering the most

01:42

historic trial in american political history

01:45

to that end

01:47

i'd also like to say that i'm sorry to the journalists who

01:50

are sitting immediately next to me

01:52

because i unintentionally snorted out loud and went to

01:56

when this happens today at the trial and when i read this

01:59

part of the transcript to you well know why i said

02:03

prosecutor matthew cole angela

02:05

in january twenty seventeen before the defendant move down

02:08

to washington to begin his presidency michael cohen met

02:12

with allen weisselberg the trump organization to talk

02:15

about how cohen was going to get reimbursed for the payoff

02:18

to stormy daniels weisselberg you'll remember was the trump

02:21

organization chief financial officer and he was one of the

02:24

defendants longest-serving and most trusted employees neither

02:27

trump nor the trump organization can just write a

02:30

check to michael cohen for a hundred and thirty thousand

02:32

dollars with a memo line that said reimbursement for porn

02:36

star pay off

02:38

they had to disguise the nature of the repayment so they agreed

02:41

to cook the books and make it look like the repayment was

02:44

actually income

02:46

payments for services rendered instead of a reimbursement

02:49

allen weisselberg ask mister cohen to bring a copy of a bank

02:53

statement showing the hundred and thirty thousand dollars

02:55

payment that cohen had made to keep stormy daniels quiet

02:58

before the election weisselberg and cohen agreed to

03:01

a total repayment amount of four hundred twenty thousand

03:03

dollars

03:04

here is how they got to that number

03:07

this is good

03:09

they started with a hundred and thirty thousand dollars that

03:11

trump owed cohen for the stormy daniels payoff then they added

03:16

fifty thousand dollars for a separate reimbursement cohen

03:19

was claiming which had to do with tax services he paid for

03:22

during the campaign that adds up to a hundred and eighty

03:26

then they agreed to double that amount to three hundred

03:28

sixty thousand dollars to account for taxes

03:32

now of course if trump was just reimbursing cohen there

03:35

was no need to grow set up for taxes they double that because

03:38

their plan was to call it income instead of a

03:40

reimbursement if cohen was getting money they were

03:43

calling income he would have to pay taxes on it cohen was

03:46

close to a fifty percent tax bracket so to make him whole

03:49

on the hundred and eight hundred and eighty thousand

03:51

dollars that the defendant owed him they had to double the

03:53

amount to three hundred sixty then he added another sixty

03:58

thousand dollars as a year-end bonus and all of that comes

04:01

out to a total of four hundred twenty thousand dollars

04:05

and allen weisselberg wrote all of that down

04:10

for a fine i annoyed the people sitting near me because

04:12

i snorted outloud said

04:14

he wrote it all down

04:16

if you're a fan of the wire this is the scene where

04:19

stringer bell turns to the young man and says are you

04:22

taking notes on a criminal conspiracy using a lot of swear

04:25

words

04:27

yes yes he was taking notes on a criminal conspiracy

04:31

prosecutor mike off that's your call angela allen

04:33

weisselberg wrote all of that down

04:38

the the hurricane you begin to believe this is real the bank

04:42

statement that i told you about that he asked cohen to bring

04:45

to their meeting the bank statement from the essential

04:47

consultants account which show the hundred and thirty thousand

04:50

dollar wire that cohen had made to keith davidson to keep

04:53

stormy daniels quiet you will see in this trial allen

04:56

weisselberg's handwriting down the side of that bank statement

05:00

laying out every one of the steps that i just described

05:03

showing how they converted the hundred and thirty thousand

05:05

dollars payoff them out to the four hundred twenty graham

05:07

cohen was going to get paid back as they grow step way to

05:10

disguise it not as reimbursement but as income

05:13

and they took notes about it every step of the way and the

05:16

prosecution has the notes

05:19

and then here's the kicker

05:21

magical angela prosecutor quote colin weisselberg been

05:24

met with trump who approved the repayment amount of four

05:26

hundred twenty grand on the hundred and thirty thousand

05:29

dollars stormy daniels payment and a few other expenses

05:31

now you will see evidence at trial that trump was a very

05:34

frugal businessman

05:37

he believed in pinching pennies he believed in

05:39

watching every dollar he believed in negotiating every

05:41

bill it's all over all of the books he's written here on the

05:44

trump organization with total control you will hear

05:46

testimony about his relentless focus on the bottom line

05:49

but when it came time to pay michael cohen back for the

05:51

catch and kill deal you will see that he didn't negotiate

05:54

the price down he doubled it and he doubled it so they could

05:58

disguise it as income and you will hear evidence that the

06:00

trump organization was not in the practice of paying people

06:03

twice what they owed for anything this might be the

06:06

only time that ever happens and trump's willingness to do

06:10

so here shows just how important it was to him to hide

06:13

the true nature of cohen's illegal payment to miss daniels

06:16

and the overall election conspiracy that they had

06:19

launched in august twenty fifteen

06:22

prosecutors saying trump is paying a lot for this and he

06:25

never pays for anything that's how important and

06:28

sensitive this was

06:30

interestingly

06:32

moments later the defense used this same set of facts to make

06:36

the opposite point to the jury saying yeah trump really is

06:39

so cheap and so unwilling to pay for anything so

06:44

this must have been some other thing he was paying for

06:47

not the thing they have handwritten notes from his cfo

06:51

about

06:52

joining us now is former fbi general counsel andrew

06:54

weissmann also with us former assistant district attorney in

06:57

the manhattan district attorney's office katherine

06:59

christian author andrew thank you both for being here

07:03

andrew let me ask you first was stringer bell right to ask

07:06

allen west where are you taking notes on a criminal

07:09

conspiracy is this document potentially important east

07:12

so you might have seen by now it's because that is

07:16

started that was the page i had the same reaction

07:21

so one of things that you listen for when you listen to

07:25

openings on both sides is you know that they're witnesses are

07:29

going to testify do you think about how they're going to jay

07:31

whether they have memory issues whether they have

07:33

credibility issues but then you look for what is the

07:36

prosecution going to say with the spectrum with so-called

07:39

hard evidence and they're the things that stood out to me was

07:43

you had a reference to the tape recording that we've heard

07:46

about that's where donald trump is overheard saying

07:49

hey let's just pay the hundred thirty thousand in cash

07:52

that's that's a terrible tape for donald trump seconds

07:56

there was references to telephone records at a critical

07:59

time that the payments were first made by michael kahn

08:04

ju stormy daniels were there to cause that the prosecutor

08:09

referenced between michael cohen and donald trump and

08:13

then the third was this which is definitely a fall off your

08:16

chair moment where they have it in writing and what's so

08:21

interesting is that the defense said the repayment was not

08:27

repeat it was not reimbursement for the payments

08:30

to stormy daniels i do not know how they're going to deal

08:34

with that when you have these notes and remember when you

08:37

make a promise when you say something and openings as

08:41

catherine as kate in years that comes back to haunt you

08:45

if you have over promised if you've made a misstatement that

08:49

both sides are listening for that because they're going to

08:51

bring it up again in closing catherine is it is important

08:55

here that we don't expect allen weisselberg himself to be a

08:59

witness to potentially you know walked the jury through

09:02

what his notes matt and and explain this document that is

09:06

otherwise it's sort of a fall off your chair moment like

09:08

andrew said well it's a good thing since he's serving time

09:11

for perjury

09:13

so neither side wants him as a witness so it's it's very

09:18

good for the prosecution because they can just have the

09:20

notes and obviously donald trump doesn't want a perjurer

09:23

testify on his behalf so that's a good thing but i

09:26

agree with with andrew this is tucker operation when you talk

09:30

about michael cohen in his baggage this is where you have

09:34

cropper shun of his statement so there's no way the manhattan

09:38

da's office would have just relied on michael cohen's

09:41

testimony if they did not have corroborating documents

09:44

corroborating witnesses

09:47

now as lawrence o'donnell just mention today was the

09:50

first time that we've heard from the defense be heard from

09:53

the prosecution in effect with the indictment with the

09:58

announcement of charges that led to today's proceedings

10:01

but this is the first time we got to see the defense go

10:04

through their paces for the defense counsel for former

10:07

president trump we did get a sense and they're opening

10:10

statements today about how it looks like they're going to try

10:12

to defend their client if today's opening statements are

10:15

any guide they're going to stress that mister trump is a

10:19

former presidents and they're going to always call him

10:22

president trump they're going to stress beyond that that he

10:25

right now is the presumptive republican nominee for

10:28

president again or as his defense counsel called him

10:31

today the republican nominee not even presumptive they're

10:35

going to claim that every aspect of this was an innocent

10:39

act by trump that there wasn't an underlying sexual encounter

10:42

to cover up even though that would seem to be immaterial to

10:45

the charges they will seem to be claiming again of today's

10:48

opening statements are any guide that michael cohen

10:51

trump's lawyer paid a porn star on his own accord and for his

10:56

own reasons that trump only paid michael cohen for legal

11:00

services just like he always had he just changed to a weird

11:04

new way of paying him after the porn star thing because

11:07

well they'll think of something

11:10

but if you are in this defense team if you are in charge of

11:13

coming up with the defense for mister trump

11:16

here's the part of the prosecution's case that would

11:19

seem to be the most difficult thing to explain logically

11:23

if you're really going to try to mount a defense that trump

11:25

did nothing at all wrong that there was no conspiracy to

11:29

corrupt the election as the prosecution put it at the top

11:32

of their opening statements today well this would seem to

11:35

be

11:36

the toughest thing logically that you're up against here it

11:40

is this is from the opening statement from prosecutor

11:42

matthew collection clanzel quote

11:47

now at this sorry this is not going to forgive me this is

11:49

the introduction at this point colangelo has explained to the

11:52

jury that there was what he called a criminal conspiracy

11:55

between trump and am i american media to publish positive

11:59

stories about trump to publish negative stories about trump's

12:01

rivals to find negative stories about trump that hadn't been

12:05

published yet and then too hey the sources of the stories

12:09

to make them shut up and not tell anybody about the stories

12:11

before the election so the prosecution has explained to

12:15

the jury at this point that my american media national

12:18

enquirer they first found a doorman door man named dean

12:23

dinos to judon who said that trump had fathered a secret

12:26

child with a housekeeper so june was the first one that

12:29

am i paid to keep quiet about his story and was the second

12:33

one woman and karen mcdougal who said she had an affair with

12:36

trump they paid her to not tell anybody about that story

12:40

as well that there was the third one stormy daniels

12:42

and although this point the enquirer was still willing to

12:46

make arrangements for her to be paid to be quiet about that

12:49

story by that point they were not ready to put up additional

12:52

money and so michael cohen put up the money for that so the

12:57

prosecutors explained all this to the jury and then he says

13:00

this prosecutor matthew clanzel

13:03

cohen made that pay minute donald trump's direction and

13:05

for his benefit and he did it with a specific goal of

13:08

influencing the outcome of the election now look no

13:11

politician wants bad press but the evidence at trial will show

13:15

that this was not spend our communications strategy

13:18

this was a planned coordinated long-running conspiracy to

13:21

influence the twenty sixteen election to help donald trump

13:23

get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people

13:27

who had something bad to say about his behavior using

13:29

doctored corporate records and bank forms to conceal those

13:33

payments along the way it was election fraud pure and

13:37

simple we will never know and it doesn't matter if this

13:40

conspiracy was the difference maker in a close election

13:44

but you will see evidence in the defendant's own words from

13:48

his social media posts from the speeches at campaign rallies

13:51

and other events you will see in his own words making crystal

13:54

clear that he was certainly concerned about how all of this

13:57

could hurt his standing with voters and with female voters

14:00

in particular you will also see evidence that on election

14:03

night

14:04

as news outlets got closer to calling the election for donald

14:07

trump the lawyer for both stormy daniels and karen

14:10

mcdougal tech student dylan howard editor at the national

14:14

fire and he said quote

14:15

what have we done

14:19

about a month after the election david packard

14:21

the ceo of american media then authorize am i to release both

14:26

dinos issued and the doorman and karen mcdougal from their

14:31

non-disclosure agreements

14:34

say that again about a month after the election packer

14:37

authorize am i to release the first two recipients of catch

14:42

and kill money

14:43

release them from their non-disclosure agreements

14:46

once the election is over colangelo quote so having paid

14:49

for the stories in order to keep them from the public

14:51

before election day packer in a i then told both that google

14:55

and student a month after the election that they were no

14:57

longer bound by the nondisclosure agreements

15:02

just think about what that means this claim right from

15:05

the from the defense is that none of these payments game

15:08

said anything to do with the election to knows what michael

15:11

cohen was doing paying that porn star donald trump was

15:13

just paying for legal fees right that the defense is

15:16

saying said nothing to do with the election the prosecution

15:18

says they will present evidence that trump american media paid

15:22

for all of these people to be silent until the election was

15:26

over

15:28

and then once the election was over they then released all

15:30

these people from these agreements to be silent because

15:33

once the election happened they didn't care anymore

15:35

because at that point mission accomplished because the

15:39

mission was to influence the election

15:42

and so once the election was done there's no more need for

15:44

these agreements

15:46

the mission was the election the mission was not to protect

15:50

his brand

15:51

the mission wasn't to save his family embarrassment it was to

15:55

keep these people silent to pay them to be silent specifically

15:59

and only

16:00

in order to win the election full stop

16:04

prosecution calls this a criminal scheme to corrupt the

16:08

twenty sixteen presidential election one that was covered

16:10

up by lying in this business records

16:14

logically that hole releasing people from the agreements once

16:18

the election was over logically that would seem to

16:21

be

16:22

the crux of this case if the prosecution can prove it

16:26

legally though will safe lots

16:29

so rachel it here we arrive at the different burdens

16:32

of prosecution and defense the prosecution is going for

16:36

logic and you are following their logic and their lodger

16:40

takes you over to the national enquirer and it takes you over

16:44

to this guy who said told require that you know trump

16:48

fathered a child that that turns out not to be true ever

16:50

in the courtroom agrees but that wasn't true and then

16:54

it takes you over to karen mcdougal and those are the two

16:57

who are released from their confidentiality agreement after

17:00

the election and what the defense is going to say in

17:02

final argument is

17:04

that has nothing to do with this case absolutely nothing

17:10

because remember what the defense needs in final argument

17:13

is not logic they're not trying to take you through a

17:16

flawlessly logical story they're just trying to target

17:20

any little do they can find any where and they will lane in

17:26

final argument on that agreement in that courtroom

17:31

that that guy who said that holding choir that donald

17:34

trump diligently for father child was not telling the

17:37

truth wasn't telling the truth just like stormy daniels

17:40

wasn't telling the truth about donald trump and donald trump

17:43

gets hustle by these people all the time and we have to deal

17:46

with them in different ways donald trump has said publicly

17:49

this happens to

17:50

every man every man

17:53

clued you chris a sitting at this table every man whose

17:57

public every man who is in the public eye is constantly paying

18:02

off tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of these deals all

18:06

the time that stall trump's claim right and he's going to

18:08

say you know this is happening to me all the time

18:11

and and and all of that macdougal stuff

18:13

everything involving packer everything involvement choir is

18:17

going to be thrown out the door in the final argument of donald

18:21

trump's defense lawyers because none of that is a charged

18:23

crime not a single thing in any of that it's these

18:27

business records and the other piece of the defense that we

18:30

heard today about the business records is

18:32

this is the name of the woman who made up you know the

18:36

checks this is the name of the book keeper centered on the

18:39

record who filled out the forms this is the name of the

18:42

person who told her to say legal services and donald trump

18:46

never told any of them to say legal services

18:50

that's the defense donald trump didn't tell them to keep

18:53

the books this way and the money oh by the way was not

18:57

for having anything to do with stormy daniels says the entire

19:00

defense there's no other piece of that fence and it has

19:02

nothing to do with other people's home nondisclosure

19:07

agreements and all that stuff and and of course all that

19:11

stuff makes perfect sense when the prosecution is building you

19:15

this flawless table that has logical for logical legs to it

19:20

and defense is going to come along and say no it has no

19:23

legs the table has no life

19:26

you know we released all these people from these

19:28

agreements after the election because we love late november

19:35

release of their merry christmas is a time that

19:37

they're going to feel no need to offense will feel no need to

19:41

explain why those nondisclosure agreements are no longer in

19:45

four small they will have any need to wear in their final

19:47

argument don't throw something out there in the course of the

19:50

trial but that they won't feel compelled to explore what

19:52

you're talking about about that the claim of from dino

19:56

the dorm and being a false claim

19:58

what am i nevertheless agreed to pay for it and what

20:02

michael cohen was paid and how they arrived at that out

20:06

was the star your coffee out your nose in the courtroom

20:09

moment today we're going to talk about that including with

20:12

andrew weissmann and catherine christians were here you are

20:16

good at keeping us keeping us on the on the legal straight

20:18

narrow as we as we proceed with our primetime recap

20:22

today's criminal proceedings against former president donald

20:25

trump

20:37

okay questions from the prosecutor

20:40

so a ceo and president and chairman did you have the

20:43

final say over publishing decisions including which

20:46

stories would get published and which stories would not get

20:49

published answer from david packer former ceo of american

20:53

media yes i have the final say

20:56

on the celebrity side of the magazine industry at least on

20:59

the tabloid side we used checkbook journalism and we pay

21:03

for stories so i gave a number to the editors that they could

21:06

not spend more than ten thousand dollars to investigate

21:10

or produce are published a story so anything over ten

21:13

thousand dollars that they would spend on a story that

21:15

would have to be vetted and brought up to me if they were

21:18

going to spend more for approval question prosecutor in

21:22

addition to having to approve expenditures did you also have

21:25

final kind of editorial say in other words the ability to

21:29

determine that a particular story was not going to be run

21:32

or a particular story was going to be run answer david packer

21:35

being in the publishing industry for forty years

21:38

i realized early in my career that the only thing that was

21:41

important is the cover of a magazine so when the editors

21:45

produce a story are prepared to cover would have a meeting and

21:47

they were presented with the story would be with the concept

21:49

was what the cost is going to be question prosecutor and if

21:53

the story involves a guess for lack of a better way to say it

21:56

a big story or famous person did you have the final say on

22:00

whether or not to publish that story answer david pecker's

22:03

yes i did

22:05

the first witness in the criminal trial of former

22:08

president donald trump today was david packer the former

22:11

ceo of american media inc am i which is the company that

22:15

used to on the national enquirer now two salient

22:19

point here about that testimony from david packer is only on

22:22

the stand for like half an hour today but we get all of this

22:24

very salient stuff for the prosecution's case

22:28

first of all there's there's what he said about what counts

22:31

as a normal amount of money for the kind of checkbook

22:35

journalism that he says his company dots anything over ten

22:38

thousand dollars

22:40

that would be unusual that would be sort of out of bounds

22:42

that would have to get personal approval from him as the

22:46

chairman president and ceo of not just one of these

22:49

publications but the entire company with dozens of

22:52

publications ten grand was the ceiling beyond that it had to

22:55

go personally through him

22:58

but in this case prosecutors say they will present evidence

23:02

that am i was doing something and a whole other league when

23:05

it came to what they were doing for trump for example before

23:08

even investigating a trump property door man's claim about

23:12

trump supposedly fathering a secret child with a

23:15

housekeeper they paid that man thirty thousand dollars

23:19

they paid the man making the claim thirty thousand dollars

23:22

to make him be quiet about it before they even investigated

23:26

whether it might be true

23:28

triple what is their normal limit for having to go to the

23:32

ceo

23:34

also the claim about the affair with trump from former playboy

23:38

playmate karen mcdougal they paid her a hundred and

23:41

fifty thousand dollars which was fifteen times their limit

23:46

for going to the ceo and appears to have been way beyond

23:49

what they were paying anybody else for anything

23:53

prosecutor matthew clincial close after consulting with

23:56

cohen parker directed his editor in chief at the national

23:59

enquirer to negotiate an agreement to pay thirty

24:02

thousand dollars to the doorman to buy exclusive rights to that

24:06

story the evidence will show that packer was not acting as a

24:09

publisher he was acting as a co-conspirator

24:12

the evidence will show that this was a highly unusual deal

24:16

even for tabloid journalism it was a lot more money than

24:19

they would usually paid to a source

24:21

they bought the doorman story without even fully

24:24

investigating it was the first time david packer had never

24:27

paid anyone for information about donald trump

24:30

packard directed that the deal take place because of the

24:33

agreement he had reached a because he had promised trump

24:35

at the trump tower meeting in august twenty fifteen that he

24:38

would use his media empire to help the defendants campaigns

24:42

and they knew that public disclosure of the door man's

24:44

information would hurt that campaign

24:48

what prosecutors laid out today and what the witness help them

24:52

prove today is that the practices described here in

24:56

this alleged criminal conspiracy we're not at all

24:58

normal not even for tabloid check but journalism that pays

25:03

for stories and even for american media specifically and

25:07

the national enquirer specifically this is not their

25:10

back this is not part of what they do as a magazine

25:14

this is part of what they do as an alleged criminal conspiracy

25:18

with donald trump to illegally influence the election

25:22

so that's one

25:23

the second and final part about this david packer testimony

25:26

that is perhaps alien to the overall case here is the part

25:30

where he says that the quote only thing that's important is

25:34

the cover it's a magazine

25:39

stepping back from just the legal fight here

25:42

if this was a criminal conspiracy to influence the

25:44

election

25:46

how much influence we talking about here

25:49

in terms of how much influence this alleged criminal

25:51

conspiracy could have had on the election

25:54

how influential is the national enquirer all right i mean

25:57

the national enquirer only reportedly has about a hundred

26:00

and fifty thousand two hundred thousand copies sold nationwide

26:04

in a week these days

26:06

but the covers covers of the only thing that matters

26:10

they have their covers in the face of everyone who shops in

26:15

the mainstream grocery store anywhere in america in all

26:17

fifty states the cover of the national enquirer per david

26:21

packer the only thing that matters that covers of time

26:24

magazine from the time of this alleged criminal conspiracy

26:27

with trump

26:29

covers that were in your face in every supermarket in the

26:32

country week after week and for months on end looked like this

26:38

trump why i am the only choice for president

26:42

the donald trump nobody knows the babes and bucks the real

26:48

reason he hates obama and the clintons this one has a

26:51

special place in my heart

26:53

putin picks trump for president

26:57

this one how trump will win

26:59

or following how trump will win the debate also hillary's

27:03

nephew was in the klan

27:06

trump takes charge also bill clinton his diet

27:11

and hillary is dying haha areas

27:16

corrupt that was not clear enough just as corrupt as one

27:20

big word also hillary will never be president and this was

27:24

their election eve bombshell edition

27:27

just make sure you had all the bases here hillary corrupt

27:30

faces criminal

27:33

before twenty sixteen the national enquirer never-before

27:37

endorsed a presidential candidate

27:41

all right this is what they did in twenty sixteen when they

27:43

did those covers they were doing something very different

27:47

with donald trump the man ever done with any politician before

27:50

something that was in the face of every person who ever walked

27:55

up to the little conveyor belt thing at a supermarket checkout

27:58

line anywhere in america any time during the duration of

28:01

the alleged conspiracy which was the duration of the twenty

28:04

sixteen campaign whether or not you ever picked up that

28:07

magazine let alone opened it past the cover this

28:11

propaganda which was the product of this allegedly

28:14

illegal campaign scheme was in the face of

28:19

likely if not tens of millions of americans perhaps

28:23

more than a hundred million americans how many of us go to

28:26

a grocery store

28:28

this was strictly a strange out of character first time ever

28:32

arrangement they made but this one candidate with trump that

28:35

prosecutors today in their opening statement said was a

28:37

criminal scheme to corrupt the twenty sixteen presidential

28:40

election criminal scheme that was hatched in a trump tower

28:43

meeting just a few weeks after he announced his candidacy for

28:46

president

28:49

a criminal scheme which ultimately landed him in

28:51

criminal court today as the first-ever us president to be a

28:54

defendant in a criminal trial when you cover up of that

28:57

alleged criminal conspiracy which charged as a string of

29:00

thirty four felonies and new york state

29:04

trump's lawyer defense council dot todd blanche was in the

29:07

middle of his opening statements today when something

29:09

unusual happened todd blanche trump defense council quote

29:13

michael cohen paying stormy daniels or stephanie clifford

29:16

a hundred and thirty thousand dollars in exchange for her

29:19

green to not publicly spread false false claims about

29:23

president trump it is not illegal i'm going to say that

29:26

again entering into a nondisclosure agreement

29:29

prosecutor objection judge sustained

29:34

mister blanche entering into a nondisclosure agreement is

29:37

perfectly legal prosecution objection the judge overruled

29:44

mister thompson continues on for a moment then it happens

29:46

again pretty much right away todd blanche when miss daniels

29:49

threatened to go public with her false claim of a sexual

29:51

encounter with president trump back in two thousand eight

29:54

that it was as the people just said very close to the

29:56

election and it was almost an attempt by ms clifford ms

29:59

daniels to extort president trump prosecutor objection

30:03

judge sustains

30:06

lance then tries to keep going but then a moment later

30:10

mister blanche again entering into an agreement with another

30:12

individual you'll hear this agreement was negotiated by

30:15

lawyers prosecutor objection

30:18

now at this point judge for sean does not even rule on the

30:21

objection doesn't say sustain doesn't say overruled instead

30:24

calls lawyers from both sides up to the bench please

30:28

approach

30:30

lawyers and the judge then confer and then the judge

30:33

rules judge the objection is the state

30:36

still mister blanched trump's lawyer moves on to another

30:39

topic

30:40

but it makes it just three further pages into the

30:42

transcript and the whole thing starts all over again this time

30:45

it's over a mention of michael cohen todd blanche trump's

30:47

defense council quote separately from his obsession

30:50

with president trump has obsession get president trump

30:52

on multiple occasions michael cohen has testified under oath

30:55

and lied prosecutor objection the judge sustained

30:59

blanche he walked his he's walked into a courtroom very

31:03

near here raised his right hand and swore to tell the

31:05

truth and now he will tell you i expect that he was

31:08

lying prosecutor objection judge sustained

31:13

and for a second time the judge calls up the lawyers for

31:16

both sides to the bench to the best counsel please approach

31:19

and a second time he upholds the objection

31:22

the judge was shot the objection is the state

31:27

i was in the court when the string of objections happened

31:30

in the middle of trump's teams opening statements both sides

31:34

getting repeatedly hauled up before the judge that report

31:37

or excuse me the lawyer having to restart what he was saying

31:39

try to find his momentum again pick back up

31:42

to me as a lay person it seemed dramatic and strange

31:46

but i want to ask our lawyers here how rare is it for

31:48

objections to be made during opening statements how rare is

31:52

it for the judge to interrupt opening statements with

31:54

multiple directions to the lawyers including the one

31:58

making the opening statement they got to come up with a

31:59

mention doctor the judge

32:01

why are these objections made what does this tell us about

32:03

the trial and about the defense that trump's lawyer is trying

32:06

to make luckily joining us now is lisa rubin who was at

32:09

the courthouse today in the overflow room lisa i

32:11

understand that part of your sacrifice today was allowing me

32:14

to be in the courtroom in a seat that you might otherwise

32:16

have had your butt in so as not to attack a fight i'm very

32:19

grateful and i here by the creek back to yeah

32:25

you actually in some ways in the office of overflow or might

32:27

have a slightly better view of this than i did sitting at the

32:30

back of the courtroom watching it started down the aisle

32:32

what was happening there at how weird was it

32:35

so it was weird not just because there was one

32:37

objection but because of how many there were relative to the

32:41

brevity of todd lunches opening statement let's start

32:44

with the fact that tub lynch was an experienced prosecutor

32:47

and the southern district of new york but what he's not is

32:49

an experienced defense lawyer we learned today from new york

32:52

magazine something that confirms something that i

32:54

suspected which is that tomblin just right exactly one

32:57

trial as defense counsel and the last decade and on a fairly

33:01

narrow issue and if you were just in that courtroom he

33:04

probably would have expected as much because he's flow was

33:07

interrupted so many times by these frequent objections and

33:10

the side bars now that having been said rachel i think a

33:14

number of the things that he did today where perfectly

33:17

intentional because while they were objected to in the

33:19

objections were sustained he still planted the seeds of

33:22

doubt in the jurors minds and in particular for example

33:25

when he said that stormy daniels made donald trump a

33:29

victim of extortion that was immediately objected to in

33:31

sustained because that among other things is a legal

33:34

conclusion there was no prosecution for example

33:37

a stormy daniels for extorting

33:38

donald trump he would have known in advance the judge was

33:41

not going to allow them to get away with saying i think that's

33:43

probably right but there are other objections where he

33:46

definitely knew and i think the place where he definitely

33:49

knew was when he talked about what i'll call the diet advice

33:52

of counsel defense where he essentially said trump believed

33:56

that these nondisclosure agreements were totally kosher

33:59

because he had attorneys negotiating them for him

34:02

that's an issue that's already been litigated as part of the

34:04

party's motions in limon which are the advanced arguments

34:07

about what evidence can and can't come in todd blanche

34:10

near when he walked in the courtroom this morning that

34:12

that was not going to be an argument allowed because he was

34:15

trying to use the attorney client privilege as a sword and

34:18

a shield essentially saying my client relied on lawyers

34:21

advice but we're not going to tell you what that advice was

34:24

and just like judge kaplan did in the sam bankman-fried case

34:27

in fact just richaun cited that ruling in making his own

34:31

i'm not going to let your client do that there is no

34:33

advice of counsel light and yet that's where plants stolen

34:37

i'm going to give an instruction now that nobody

34:40

knows is coming and i know it's going make everybody move

34:42

around i'd like to talk to katherine christian effect

34:45

she's on the side of the room and lots of cameras after move

34:47

directly to make this possible hi catherine thank you

34:50

you have experience in the new york new york district

34:53

attorney's office the the what what what lisa's describing

34:57

hear about about mister bush's relative inexperience doing

35:01

this kind of lawyering and this kind of a case is one piece of

35:05

perspective here another piece of perspective here is what's

35:08

normal and new york the criminal proceeding like this

35:12

when these interruptions these objections happened during the

35:16

opening statements here from the defense how did that

35:19

strike you

35:21

it's not unusual andrew and i will probably have a

35:23

different experience new york state court is not his day t as

35:26

federal court so it's not shocking end defense attorney

35:30

some of them pride themselves on stepping on the line

35:34

so you know i have jack when i was a prosecutor because they

35:38

stepped on the line and as lisa said

35:41

hoops see the jury heard what he said so it's in their

35:45

head so this i can't say it happens all the time but it's

35:49

not shocking i rarely objective as a prosecutor

35:52

because i didn't want the jury to think that i was trying to

35:55

hide something from the marks of freight here i would have

35:58

objected because he was clearly saying things he shouldn't even

36:00

the judge already ruled against but it's not shocking

36:03

at least not in the world of a hundred center street in new

36:06

york

36:07

county and copper let me ask about something k frank

36:09

said earlier where she said that you know in the minds of

36:12

the jury mister branch might have not done himself a verse

36:17

with all of those the statements being objected to

36:19

today all those interruptions because the jury might have

36:22

thought even if the seeds were planted in their minds by

36:24

things he wasn't supposed to say that he nevertheless of

36:26

them here they at least would think that he was doing

36:29

something wrong by being essentially surf many

36:32

sanctioned by the judge in that way and and interrupted in a

36:35

slow

36:36

now in the judge instructed the jury about objections and

36:38

not to take them against the the the defense attorney

36:41

the prosecutor i have heard acquitting juries talk about

36:47

how they liked how that defense attorney really fought for

36:50

their client so i don't think you could read into is sustain

36:55

the jury is going to think very bad i think as lisa just said

36:58

there was a tactic

37:00

he knew that these for objection things he was saying

37:04

and they were objected to but it already you can ring the

37:07

bell is what usually say it came out to the jury and

37:10

prosecutors cannot appeal an acquittal

37:15

so under an order imposed by the court in this criminal

37:19

case donald trump is not allowed to make or direct

37:23

others to make public statements about known or

37:27

reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their

37:29

potential participation in the investigation or in this

37:32

criminal proceeding is not allowed to do that the

37:36

prosecution is now arguing that trump has done that a lot

37:41

it will be a hearing tomorrow morning at nine thirty

37:43

eastern before the jurors come into the courtroom prosecutors

37:46

are going to ask the judge to find that former president

37:49

trump willfully violated the gag order by attacking

37:52

well-known potential witnesses including stormy daniels and

37:54

michael cohen attacking the credibility on up to ten

37:57

separate occasions if the judge finds trump in criminal

38:02

contempt of court on these matters

38:05

trump could be fined up to a thousand dollars each for each

38:07

violation that's what prosecutors are asking for

38:10

he could possibly be sentenced to a maximum of thirty days in

38:13

jail of the prosecutors are certainly not asking for that

38:16

yet

38:18

i mean tonight trump sent around fundraising email called

38:22

my farewell message making it sound like he's definitely

38:25

going to jail

38:27

i already met to ask our legal experts about it but we just

38:30

cued up some new sound from donald trump today this is

38:33

from an interview on a conservative network called

38:37

real america's voice here it is donald trump talking about

38:40

the jury in his trial

38:44

that jury was picked so fast ninety-five percent

38:48

democrats the areas all mostly all democrat you think

38:52

of it as a just a purely democrat area it's a very

38:56

unfair situation that i can tell you

38:59

that jury ninety-five percent democrats again

39:02

the last item in the gag order forbids trump from making or

39:06

directing others to makes public statements about any

39:08

prospective juror are any juror in this criminal proceeding

39:14

andrew weissmann still with us here tonight the gag order has

39:19

been the discussion but i feel like we've had around the edges

39:22

of this case a lot because it's the way that trump has tried to

39:25

kind of shape the environment around this case it's going to

39:28

be in the courtroom front and center tomorrow morning at nine

39:31

thirty what do you expect judge were shot is going to do

39:34

what are you going to be watching for

39:36

so you have donald trump clearly coating the judge

39:41

he the fact that he's doing something that appears by all

39:44

accounts to be in direct violation the order has the

39:49

latest tonight and advance of a nine thirty hearing on

39:55

violations with respect to witnesses and a violation of

39:58

inspection jurors by the sun which are things that a judge

40:01

is going to care tremendously about you know i think the

40:07

you know i see is going hear from the defense and you

40:09

know the betting is that he's going to certainly say that

40:13

there was a violation and he can impose the fine that is

40:16

obviously negligible any can savor at all about what's next

40:22

this is one where what i would say hi or like if you are

40:26

seeing right here i would say leave aside pope politics

40:31

leave aside what he's going somebody to do

40:35

what would you do for any other defendant it we have seen

40:40

their legal system bend over shouldn't shofar to accommodate

40:45

donald trump he is he is not being treated worse he's being

40:49

treated show show much better weather turning back dear j

40:53

whether you're talking about all of the criminal cases and

40:56

this is one where he wouldn't have to impose thirty days in

41:00

jail but he can really j like a child give them a timeout

41:04

he can be step back and be kept in the pens in the courthouse

41:08

but i think this is so clearly like a child testing what will

41:11

happen and that's at the very outset of the case there isn't

41:16

a firm hand right now and the real allies imposed it really

41:21

is a terrible message in terms of how the trials going to go

41:24

forward because he's going to continue doing this at their

41:27

jersey doesn't like he can attack them if he's going to

41:31

try and seek mistrial pie by his antics that something could

41:34

try said the court which is extremely experienced i think

41:38

is going to have to be really careful about what exact as the

41:42

sanction has been imposed

41:44

how will the judge decide or how of the hearing on this go

41:48

again that's going to be the way that court starts tomorrow

41:51

is he going to ask defense is going to rule or is he going to

41:55

ask defense council and the prosecutors to make arguments

41:58

in front of him is he going to you know have a witness

42:00

talk

42:01

so he could asked both sides to state their position

42:05

he could see if there is a dispute the facts you could

42:09

actually have a hearing on this but there may not be

42:12

it's just get a facts and the facts seem so clear unless tom

42:16

trump's going to say somebody else took over my account

42:19

you know roger stone tried that one he was in violation

42:23

he actually took the witness stand and said i didn't see

42:26

that many later sort of a canton said okay i did do it

42:30

and yeah that was when he posted the judges picture with

42:33

cross hairs next her head and so there can be a hearing

42:39

but it may not be necessary just given the volume of

42:44

allegations here there's now i think up to eleven allegations

42:48

that are going to be before the judge but ultimately it would

42:52

be the state's burden to come forward