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transcription
This transcript was created with speech popularity software. Although it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the audio of the episode before quoting this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes. com if you have any questions.
[STREET NOISE]
What’s going on?
Oh, hello, Michel.
[LAUGHS] Hello.
Hello. Hello.
Hello morning.
It’s a day
It’s a day
That’s all you can ask for. It’s like-
It’s going to be a day.
It will be like the mid-60s, without a jacket. That’s who we are.
Here we are.
[PLAYING MUSIC] Michael, can you talk to us a little?
Absolument. Il is Tuesday, April 4 at 10:20 a. m. m. And you and I stand in the back of what is necessarily a small community of legal buildings and courthouses, which, if you’ve ever seen a proceeding on television, you’ll recognize. It turns out that each and every episode of “Law & Order” has a scene filmed on the steps of one of those courthouses.
And that’s where history is coming to be made today. This is where Donald Trump will appear in his caravan with the secret services, faint and move to the Manhattan prosecutor.
And that’s where, a few hours later, Donald Trump will be brought to justice. The accusations will be read to you. You will have to enter a plea. This is the moment everyone is waiting for.
Meanwhile, other people have gathered outside the courthouse to protest this accusation and close the indictment, as well as to voice their opinion and say it has to happen. And that’s where we’re headed now.
Let’s go.
[SECONDARY CONVERSATIONS]
[STREET NOISE]
IT IS OK. So it’s interesting. It is a set of steel fences that separate the two sides. I think we’re on Trump’s side, Trump’s opponents.
Here there are more news hounds and tourists than Trump supporters. This is not entirely surprising. We’re in Manhattan.
Why are you here?
It’s very, very complex. It’s complicated to put it in a sound clip.
He slept with Stormy Daniels. Et so what is it?
Trump has never been in this office. It’s time. It’s a long time to come.
Tell me. Tell me why here.
Well, I had to. . .
Because they’re arresting Donald Trump for something. It’s fair.
I think that’s pretty ridiculous. And it is evidently a politically successful work.
The birthday party is in spite of everything, despite everything there is some responsibility.
Is it a party, this rally?
Yes, something like that. Simply because there is a duty, any duty to the one who commits criminal acts and who is elected in part by committing criminal acts is a celebration.
I’m here for former President Trump.
And why?
I mean, I think the crime, if there is one, committed, is harmless. It didn’t harm anyone. It doesn’t matter who I’m with, you know?
I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t say much. But I can say that other people get away with much worse things all the time in this city. You know?
Can you tell me what your blouse says?
He says he is arresting Trump. Yes.
And that’s happening. Today.
It is ok. Nice to meet him.
Ah, here we are. The police car just passed by. It’s here. The procession has arrived.
From the “New York Times”, I’m Michael Barbaro.
IT IS OK. There he is. I can see Trump’s head.
You can see it far away.
Today, what did it look like when Donald Trump was charged with 34 charges?
Trump is now in the building. He gives up. There he is. This is all very, very genuine right now. Literally, right here, on this corner of this Manhattan street, we are uncharted territory.
My colleague Jonah Bromwich takes us inside the courthouse where Trump was arrested.
It’s Wednesday, April 5.
Jonah, how did you get into that courtroom to begin with?Because, as I left lower Manhattan for the day, I saw all those journalists, some of whom were well-known television personalities, waiting in line, hunting discouraged because they hadn’t entered that room.
Oh, man. I don’t even know where to start.
Then we understood that the line was going to paint safely. People were going to line up. They were going to get numbers. And then they would enter the courtroom based on the numbers of the units. This turned out to be completely false.
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
So the first assumption we made was that the line would start at night, since, a little early Tuesday morning, the line would start at 2 p. m. Mondays –
Wow.
— more than 24 hours from the scheduled date of arrest.
This is the line of bloodhounds entering the courtroom to watch Donald Trump arrest.
And we were a little lucky because I knew there had to be a line that formed at some point. My colleague Sean Piccoli on the scene.
And I said, Sean, keep an eye out for the lines that seem to be forming. I don’t think that’s going to happen. But look what you can do.
And Sean said there was a line. There are 3 other people in it. I’m number four. And we had him and other of our colleagues, Nate Schweber, sign.
So we put number 4 and number seven in line. And we coordinate the evening reporters. And I arrived a little before 7:00.
So, did you spend the night on this line for yourself?
Several other people spent the night queuing for us.
[STREET NOISE]
Meet Jonah Bromwich, a court reporter for The New York Times. Now I see the tents and the line of bloodhounds waiting since the afternoon.
So I wake up on Tuesday. I took the place of Brittany Kriegstein. She gave me her beach chair, which I then took to the courthouse.
[STREET NOISE]
It is ok. So now I’m on the front lines, thanks to Brittany and Jason and five or six other colleagues who have been here.
Meanwhile, helicopters circle overhead. And the sun rises over the construction of the Federal Court to the south. And the tension in the queue only grows because you don’t know if you’re going in. And then, in spite of everything –
Judicial officials arrive now and the line. And it looks like we’re about to get our tickets.
This organization of judicial officials comes out of nowhere. And they start handing out those tickets. And there are 3 colors of banknotes. There is green, there is yellow and there is white.
I have my greenback, which is necessarily the price of the golden ticket in this room.
And it’s like getting a golden ticket, basically.
Droite. Et when do you set your eyes on Donald Trump?
So we went into the courthouse. And then I walk into that courtroom on the 15th floor. And I’m the first reporter to come in, which is pretty remarkable and just a coincidence, actually.
Humph.
And come back and wait. You know, I’m ringing in the courtroom. So, obviously, I don’t see anything.
But we heard the faint applause from the crowd outside. And so. . .
Mmh.
– What we understood at the time is fine, it turns out that he entered the building. And then we know that he went up to the 15th floor. And the prosecutors intervened and the defense intervened.
And then Donald Trump walked into the courtroom. And I’m so used to seeing Donald Trump on TV, or in his image on social media, a little larger than life.
Not bad.
And at that moment what I see is that he looks like an accused. He’s his age. He looks tired. He looks a little worried.
Humph.
He felt human. And despite the court officials, despite all the fuss, just by looking at it, it looked much more general than I could have imagined.
And it turns out that you say of your delight to see it on television and in meetings, a little diminished.
Yes. 100 percent. And as we communicate about what happened in the audience, that feeling has grown and grown.
Well, let’s get back on it. Once you are in the room and begin this procedure, what happens?
We’re so used to it, by now, that Donald Trump absolutely owns the room. But the first thing that happens is not even the accusation. A lawyer for the assembled media stands up and argues that bloodhounds have greater access to this procedure. .
Humph.
And Trump is not the center of attention. You know, it’s on the side. He doesn’t speak. You have to pay attention to this user you don’t know. And that sets the tone for everything that comes next.
And what comes next?
So 15 minutes pass. And that’s over. And then the judge, Juan Merchan, says, let’s impeach M. Trump, please.
So they do. They must indict Mr. Trump. A court official reads the tariffs for the first time.
He is charged with 34 counts of forgery of documents in the first degree.
That’s a lot of accounts.
That’s a lot of accounts. And the employee asks him how he declares himself. He leans forward. Take the microphone.
And he says two of the only words he’s going to say. And it’s so quiet because everyone has been waiting to hear Trump all this time. And either word is “not guilty. “
Humph.
So the prosecutors take over. They begin to describe the accusations, describe them, and say what they mean. And this is the first time we’ve heard this story in court.
The prosecutor, Chris Conroy, said Trump had falsified business documents. And he did it to publicize his candidacy in 2016.
But Conroy goes beyond that. Because he’s also talking about Trump’s posts on Truth Social in recent weeks. And that’s something I didn’t expect to see, frankly.
But Trump recently tweeted that death and destruction would occur if he were indicted. He tweeted threatening things about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg is black. And Mr. Trump called him an animal. So the language of Truth Social has been pretty ugly.
And Chris Conroy, that prosecutor, talks about it. And, again, I was so impressed. Because Trump, whose language we speak even in the courtroom, doesn’t speak. And we’re talking about him.
Not bad.
And it is raised through other people who have authority over it, either the prosecutor and the judge when hearing this complaint. And I have in my notebook, around 2:47, only the words “Great replacement in power. Trump You can’t talk here. Impossible to interrupt. Sentencing and prosecutors dominate.
Not bad. It’s not a dynamic.
Exactly.
He is silenced.
That’s right. So what the prosecutor is doing here is asking the sentence to acknowledge that those statements were problematic and potentially harmful. And he asks the sentence to rule on that.
A defense attorney, Todd Blanche, stands up and disagrees with the prosecutor. He says those messages were born out of frustration. And Mr. Trump was frustrated by the way this case was handled.
But then, as in a courtroom, either side turns to look at the approved sentence. And what the passing sentence is telling the defense attorney is that I don’t share his view that certain words and rhetoric are justified through frustration.
Humph.
And he tells her to warn Trump not to comment or engage in behavior that could incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize someone’s protection or well-being.
This opinion judgment necessarily urges Trump, who is sitting a few meters away from him, to behave when it comes to this case.
Exactly, for his publications on social networks. Trump’s social media posts are so central to what makes him a public figure. And to see those specific messages appear in the courtroom in this way, it was surprising to me.
So how does this procedure end in the end?
So, there are a lot of procedural problems. And there is back and forth between lawyers. But that’s it.
Mmh.
And then, all of a sudden, we’re done. Then Trump stands up. Their lawyers stand up. Everyone faints. And it’s over
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
We are a little. And then we are released. And we ran out of the courtroom.
And I turn on my computer. And I turn on my phone. And only then do we get a bunch of workplace data from the prosecutor that tells us a little more about the fees in the case, adding this from the facts. And the fact is what tells us that this is all going to be a little more confusing than we thought.
‘Ll.
So, Jonah, what exactly did we know about the documents released through the district attorney on Tuesday that made this case a little more complicated, as you said?
Well, basically, the case tells several stories that are also one story.
Humph.
So, the first of those stories is the one we knew. And it was the silent payment to Stormy Daniels that was made through Michael Cohen before the 2016 election. Then, after the 2016 election, Trump reimbursed Cohen.
Not bad.
And he returned it with a series of installments. Each of those bills and similar documents represents an account.
So when you look at the false statements made about those bills in terms of categorization, in terms of what’s been said about them within the Trump organization, that’s how you get to the rate of filing fake business documents. That’s all. . There are 34.
Because the bills would be misinterpreted through Trump and the Trump organization. The Trump organization said they were bills for Michael Cohen for legal work. But those were refunds for the hidden money Cohen paid out of his own pocket to Stormy Daniels. 34 tariffs here because there are 34 cases where the Trump organization falsified business records to cover refunds.
That is precisely what it is.
So, that’s the component we knew about long before this accusation. So what else do we learn?
Well, we learned, as I said, that there are several included in those documents that prosecutors have sent.
Humph.
One is about a certain Karen McDougal. She is a former Playboy model. And he says he had a months-long affair with Donald Trump. That’s why Trump and his parents worry that this story will come to light in the 2016 election.
But this time, they are coordinating with a nearby media organization, “The National Enquirer. “And it’s this organization that will pay Karen McDougal. And they pay him the exclusive rights to his story.
Correct. What is known as catch and kill. Basically, “The National Enquirer” learns that McDougal has this story about an alleged affair with Trump. They will offer to pay you for the story.
And in doing so, they force him to sell the exclusive rights to the story. So now they have control over it. But they never write history. They never try to write history. They catch him and kill him.
Yes, exactly. That’s the idea, it’s to kill hitale. And that’s what happens to Karen McDougal’s story. And then there is a third tale that is also similar.
Mmh.
And this story comes to a user who worked at Trump Tower as a doorman. And the doorman says he has this story about Trump allegedly fathering a child out of wedlock.
Humph.
And again, this is a case where “The National Enquirer” is the one getting involved. They pay for hitale, they kill hitale, and hitale doesn’t look like the 2016 campaign. And then, they discover that the story wasn’t even true.
And Jonah, how do those two cases that you just described, the Karen McDougal case and the doorman case, how do they have compatibility with the charges that were just brought against Trump and that were described Tuesday by the prosecutor?
That’s such a smart question. The fact is, we don’t know yet.
Humph.
Most likely, we may not know for some time here. So, the fees, those 34 charges, the ones similar to Trump’s refunds to Michael Cohen for the payment of Stormy Daniels. Truth? But for it to be a crime, those 34 charges will have to come with the intent to dedicate or conceal some other crime. And for now, we don’t know what this crime consists of.
And the explanation for why we don’t know what it is is because prosecutors haven’t yet said what it is. So, possibly by adding those 3 stories into the overall case story, prosecutors are looking to provide a habit trend that will sell this underlying crime to a jury.
And one theory of this underlying crime, and kind to me if I’m wrong, is that it can also be a cross-finance offense. Because at the end of the day, the bills that were made to Stormy Daniels, in the eyes of many other people familiar with the law, would possibly have been illegal cross-donations. Correct?
That is precisely what it is. But we don’t know.
IT IS OK. So no matter what that moment of crime or underlying crime is, whatever we need to describe it, whatever it is, why prosecutors tell all those stories, all 3 are because they’re saying you’re firmly identifying a type of Trump MO, a trend of custom that a jury can take a look at. And they think that makes it a more potent case.
100 percent. The task of a prosecutor is to tell a compelling story about Donald Trump. And they can tell a story that only comes to Stormy Daniels. But they don’t know what a jury will think.
Humph.
But if you tell a tale that comes to Stormy Daniels, and then you tell another story that’s similar to Karen McDougal, and you tell a third story that comes to a doorman, and in all of those stories, there’s this unusual thread, which is burying a potentially damaging set of facts to help the campaign. It can be much more convincing.
Because it’s not just a common story. This is a common intention. This is a common motivation of Donald Trump.
That’s exactly, right.
This afternoon, Donald Trump questioned an indictment of the New York Supreme Court issued by a Manhattan grand jury.
And later on Tuesday, I went to a press convention held by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The defendant made false statements in New York business records. He also induced others to make false statements.
And he talked about Trump committing the same illegal acts over and over again:
Today we assume our solemn duty that all be equivalent before the law.
– and why it is unacceptable to him.
Thanks a lot.
IT IS OK. So, Jonah, what happens next? Based on everything you learned on Tuesday, where is this case going now?
I think we’re going to continue to see this case spread in very, very different scenarios, on the crusade route in which Trump is running for president and in the courtroom, where he is impeached. And they’re two very different functions. be attractive to see if those are reconcilable roles. Because the Trump we saw in court today is very different from the one we’re used to seeing.
Well, you discussed earlier that the sentence passed in this case warned Trump not to run to annoy other people about the case. And does he impose restrictions on his movement or something similar to his crusade?
So we don’t know very well yet. But we’ll find out soon. They are similar to what is called a cover order that is being worked out between prosecutors and Mr. S. ‘s legal team. Attorney. Trump.
Humph.
And that’s going to dictate how Trump uses what happens in the courtroom on the campaign trail.
Interesting.
And prosecutors don’t need you to tweet evidence from the case. They don’t need me to reveal things you can’t reveal. You are asked not to even look at certain elements of the case unless you are in your lawyer’s office.
Humph.
So, we don’t know what will be in that final agreement. But there will be a document that will restrict what Donald Trump can do and what Donald Trump can say. And I’m very curious to see if you can take into account the terms of this document.
And what happens if it doesn’t?
If not, the judge will have to make a resolution on how to sanction the former president.
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
For so long, he combined legal disorder with political disorder. And he turned legal disorder into politics. And it’s one thing to do that when you’re under investigation. But that’s another thing entirely, when you’re an accused thief.
Well, Jonah, thank you very much. We do that.
Thank y
[Song of the Crowd]
¡USA. UU! ¡USA. UU! ¡USA. UU!
Thank you all very much. And we have to save our country. God bless you all. God bless you all.
On Tuesday night, Trump delivered a speech on the impeachment trial of Mar-a-Lago.
And I never thought something like this could happen in America. I never thought this could happen. The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly protect our country from those who seek to destroy it.
And despite the caution of prosecutors and the ruling on the case, Trump attacked the process and the opinion on himself referred to him, in quotation marks, as a “Trump hater. “
‘Ll.
Here’s what you want to know most today. In a political earthquake for Wisconsin and national politics, a liberal candidate, Janet Protasiewicz, won a very important seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, ousting most conservative justices. As a result, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in the coming year, is likely to overturn the state’s abortion ban and end the use of manipulated legislative maps that have given Republicans a blockade on force in the state. And-
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
On Tuesday, Finland became the 31. er NATO member state, a defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who decided to block NATO expansion but instead pushed Finland, which borders Russia, to join the alliance in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During a ceremony, the Finnish flag was raised at NATO headquarters. And the head of the alliance apparently warned Russia that NATO would continue to strengthen.
President Putin intended to slam the door on NATO. Today, the global one is appearing to us that it has failed, that aggression and intimidation do not work. Instead of less NATO, they gave him the opposite, more NATO.
Today’s episode was produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rob Szypko, Nina Feldman and Clare Toeniskoetter. Edited by Rachel Quester, Lisa Chow and Paige Cowett. It contains original music by Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel and Dan Powell and designed by Chris Wood. Our main theme is through Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Maddy Masiello.
That’s it for “El Diario. ” I’m Michael Barbarian. See you tomorrow.
transcription
This transcript was created with speech popularity software. Although it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the audio of the episode before quoting this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes. com if you have any questions.
[STREET NOISE]
What’s going on?
Oh, hello, Michel.
[LAUGHS] Hello.
Hello. Hello.
Hello morning.
It’s a day
It’s a day
That’s all you can ask for. It’s like-
It’s going to be a day.
It will be like the mid-60s, without a jacket. That’s who we are.
Here we are.
[PLAYING MUSIC] Michael, can you talk to us a little?
Absolument. Il is Tuesday, April 4 at 10:20 a. m. m. And you and I stand in the back of what is necessarily a small community of legal buildings and courthouses, which, if you’ve ever seen a proceeding on television, you’ll recognize. It turns out that each and every episode of “Law & Order” has a scene filmed on the steps of one of those courthouses.
And that’s where history is coming to be made today. This is where Donald Trump will appear in his caravan with the secret services, faint and move to the Manhattan prosecutor.
And that’s where, a few hours later, Donald Trump will be brought to justice. The accusations will be read to you. You will have to enter a plea. This is the moment everyone is waiting for.
Meanwhile, other people have gathered outside the courthouse to protest this accusation and close the indictment, as well as to voice their opinion and say it has to happen. And that’s where we’re headed now.
Let’s go.
[SIDE CONVERSATIONS]
[STREET NOISE]
IT IS OK. So it’s interesting. It is a set of steel fences that separate the two sides. I think we are on Trump’s side, on the other hand, Trump’s warring parties.
Here there are more news hounds and tourists than Trump supporters. This is not entirely surprising. We’re in Manhattan.
Why are you here?
It’s very, very complex. It’s complicated to put it in a sound clip.
He slept with Stormy Daniels. Et so what is it?
Trump has never been in this office. It’s time. It’s a long time to come.
Tell me. Tell me why here.
Well, I had to. . .
Because they’re arresting Donald Trump for something. It’s fair.
I think that’s pretty ridiculous. And it is evidently a politically successful work.
The birthday party is in spite of everything, despite everything there is some responsibility.
Is it a party, this rally?
Yes, something like that. Simply because there is a duty, any duty to the one who commits criminal acts and who is elected in part by committing criminal acts is a celebration.
I’m here for former President Trump.
And why?
I mean, I think the crime, if there is one, committed, is harmless. It didn’t harm anyone. It doesn’t matter who I’m with, you know?
I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t say much. But I can say that other people get away with much worse things all the time in this city. You know?
Can you tell me what your blouse says?
He says he is arresting Trump. Yes.
And that’s happening. Today.
It is ok. Nice to meet him.
Ah, here we are. The police car just passed by. It’s here. The procession has arrived.
From the “New York Times”, I’m Michael Barbaro.
IT IS OK. There he is. I can see Trump’s head.
You can see it far away.
Today, what did it look like when Donald Trump was charged with 34 charges?
Trump is now in the building. He gives up. There he is. This is all very, very genuine right now. Literally, right here, on this corner of this Manhattan street, we are uncharted territory.
My colleague Jonah Bromwich takes us inside the courthouse where Trump was arrested.
It’s Wednesday, April 5.
Jonah, how did you get into that courtroom to begin with?Because, as I left lower Manhattan for the day, I saw all those journalists, some of whom were well-known television personalities, waiting in line, hunting discouraged because they hadn’t entered that room.
Oh, man. I don’t even know where to start.
Then we understood that the line was going to paint safely. People were going to line up. They were going to get numbers. And then they would enter the courtroom based on the numbers of the units. This turned out to be completely false.
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
So the first assumption we made was that the line would start at night, since, a little early Tuesday morning, the line would start at 2 p. m. Mondays –
Wow.
— more than 24 hours from the scheduled date of arrest.
This is the line of bloodhounds entering the courtroom to watch Donald Trump arrest.
And we were a little lucky because I knew there had to be a line that formed at some point. My colleague Sean Piccoli on the scene.
And I said, Sean, keep an eye out for the lines that seem to be forming. I don’t think that’s going to happen. But look what you can do.
And Sean said a line there. There are 3 other people in it. I’m number four. And we had him and other of our colleagues, Nate Schweber, joining him.
So we put number 4 and number seven in line. And we coordinate the evening reporters. And I arrived a little before 7:00.
So, did you spend the night on this line for yourself?
Several other people spent the night queuing for us.
[STREET NOISE]
Meet Jonah Bromwich, a court reporter for The New York Times. Now I see the tents and the line of bloodhounds waiting since the afternoon.
So I wake up on Tuesday. I took the place of Brittany Kriegstein. She gave me her beach chair, which I then took to the courthouse.
[STREET NOISE]
It is ok. So now I’m on the front lines, thanks to Brittany and Jason and five or six other colleagues who have been here.
Meanwhile, helicopters circle overhead. And the sun rises over the construction of the Federal Court to the south. And the tension in the queue only grows because you don’t know if you’re going in. And then, in spite of everything –
Judicial officials arrive now and the line. And it looks like we’re about to get our tickets.
This organization of judicial officials comes out of nowhere. And they start handing out those tickets. And there are 3 colors of banknotes. There is green, there is yellow and there is white.
I have my greenback, which is necessarily the price of the golden ticket in this room.
And it’s like getting a golden ticket, basically.
Droite. Et when do you set your eyes on Donald Trump?
So we went into the courthouse. And then I walk into this courtroom on the 15th floor. And I’m the first reporter to come in, which is pretty remarkable and just a coincidence, actually.
Humph.
And come back and wait. You know, I’m ringing in the courtroom. So, obviously, I don’t see anything.
But we heard the faint applause from the crowd outside. And so. . .
Mmh.
– What we understood at the time is fine, it turns out that he entered the building. And then we know that he went up to the 15th floor. And the prosecutors intervened and the defense intervened.
And then Donald Trump walked into the courtroom. And I’m so used to seeing Donald Trump on TV, or in his image on social media, a little larger than life.
Not bad.
And at that moment what I see is that he looks like an accused. He’s his age. He looks tired. He looks a little worried.
Humph.
He felt human. And despite the court officials, despite all the fuss, just by looking at it, it looked much more general than I could have imagined.
And it turns out that you say of your delight to see it on television and in meetings, a little diminished.
Yes. 100 percent. And as we communicate about what happened in the audience, that feeling has grown and grown.
Well, let’s get back on it. Once you are in the room and begin this procedure, what happens?
We’re so used to it, by now, that Donald Trump absolutely owns the room. But the first thing that happens is not even the accusation. A lawyer for the assembled media stands up and argues that bloodhounds have greater access to this procedure. .
Humph.
And Trump is not the center of attention. You know, it’s on the side. He doesn’t speak. You have to pay attention to this user you don’t know. And that sets the tone for everything that comes next.
And what comes next?
So 15 minutes pass. And that’s over. And then the judge, Juan Merchan, says, let’s impeach M. Trump, please.
So they do. They must indict Mr. Trump. A court official reads the tariffs for the first time.
He is charged with 34 counts of forgery of documents in the first degree.
That’s a lot of accounts.
That’s a lot of accounts. And the employee asks him how he declares himself. He leans forward. Take the microphone.
And he says two of the only words he’s going to say. And it’s so quiet because everyone has been waiting to hear Trump all this time. And either word is “not guilty. “
Humph.
So the prosecutors take over. They begin to describe the accusations, describe them, and say what they mean. And this is the first time we’ve heard this story in court.
The prosecutor, Chris Conroy, said Trump had falsified business documents. And he did it to publicize his candidacy in 2016.
But Conroy goes beyond that. Because he’s also talking about Trump’s posts on Truth Social in recent weeks. And that’s something I didn’t expect to see, frankly.
But Trump recently tweeted that death and destruction would occur if he were indicted. He tweeted threatening things about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg is black. And Mr. Trump called him an animal. So the language of Truth Social has been pretty ugly.
And Chris Conroy, that prosecutor, talks about it. And, again, I was so impressed. Because Trump, whose language we speak even in the courtroom, doesn’t speak. And we’re talking about him.
Not bad.
And it is raised through other people who have authority over it, either the prosecutor and the judge when hearing this complaint. And I have in my notebook, around 2:47, only the words “Great replacement in power. Trump You can’t talk here. Impossible to interrupt. Sentencing and prosecutors dominate.
Not bad. It’s not a dynamic.
Exactly.
He is silenced.
That’s right. So what the prosecutor is doing here is asking the sentence to acknowledge that those statements were problematic and potentially harmful. And he asks the sentence to rule on that.
A defense attorney, Todd Blanche, stands up and disagrees with the prosecutor. He says those messages were born out of frustration. And Mr. Trump was frustrated by the way this case was handled.
But then, as in a courtroom, either side turns to look at the approved sentence. And what the passing sentence is telling the defense attorney is that I don’t share his view that certain words and rhetoric are justified through frustration.
Humph.
And he tells her to warn Trump not to comment or engage in behavior that could incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize someone’s protection or well-being.
This opinion judgment necessarily urges Trump, who is sitting a few meters away from him, to behave when it comes to this case.
Exactly, for his publications on social networks. Trump’s social media posts are so central to what makes him a public figure. And to see those specific messages appear in the courtroom in this way, it was surprising to me.
So how does this procedure end in the end?
So, there are a lot of procedural problems. And there is back and forth between lawyers. But that’s it.
Mmh.
And then, all of a sudden, we’re done. Then Trump stands up. Their lawyers stand up. Everyone faints. And it’s over
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
We are a little. And then we are released. And we ran out of the courtroom.
And I turn on my computer. And I turn on my phone. And only then do we get a bunch of workplace data from the prosecutor that tells us a little more about the fees in the case, adding this from the facts. And the fact is what tells us that this is all going to be a little more confusing than we thought.
‘Ll.
So, Jonah, what exactly did we know about the documents released through the district attorney on Tuesday that made this case a little more complicated, as you said?
Well, basically, the case tells several stories that are also one story.
Humph.
So, the first of those stories is the one we knew. And it was the silent payment to Stormy Daniels that was made through Michael Cohen before the 2016 election. Then, after the 2016 election, Trump reimbursed Cohen.
Not bad.
And he returned it with a series of installments. Each of those bills and similar documents represents an account.
So when you look at the false statements made about those bills in terms of categorization, in terms of what’s been said about them within the Trump organization, that’s how you get to the rate of filing fake business documents. That’s all. . There are 34.
Because the bills would be misinterpreted through Trump and the Trump organization. The Trump organization said they were bills for Michael Cohen for legal work. But those were refunds for the hidden money Cohen paid out of his own pocket to Stormy Daniels. 34 tariffs here because there are 34 cases where the Trump organization falsified business records to cover refunds.
That is precisely what it is.
So, that’s the component we knew about long before this accusation. So what else do we learn?
Well, we learned, as I said, that there are several included in those documents that prosecutors have sent.
Humph.
One is about a certain Karen McDougal. She is a former Playboy model. And he says he had a months-long affair with Donald Trump. That’s why Trump and his parents worry that this story will come to light in the 2016 election.
But this time, they are coordinating with a nearby media organization, “The National Enquirer. “And it’s this organization that will pay Karen McDougal. And they pay him the exclusive rights to his story.
Correct. What is known as catch and kill. Basically, “The National Enquirer” learns that McDougal has this story about an alleged affair with Trump. They will offer to pay you for the story.
And in doing so, they force him to sell the exclusive rights to the story. So now they have control over it. But they never write history. They never try to write history. They catch him and kill him.
Yes, exactly. That’s the idea, it’s to kill hitale. And that’s what happens to Karen McDougal’s story. And then there is a third tale that is also similar.
Mmh.
And this story comes to a user who worked at Trump Tower as a doorman. And the doorman says he has this story about Trump allegedly fathering a child out of wedlock.
Humph.
And again, this is a case where “The National Enquirer” is the one getting involved. They pay for hitale, they kill hitale, and hitale doesn’t look like the 2016 campaign. And then, they discover that the story wasn’t even true.
And Jonah, how do those two cases that you just described, the Karen McDougal case and the doorman case, how do they have compatibility with the charges that were just brought against Trump and that were described Tuesday by the prosecutor?
That’s such a smart question. The fact is, we don’t know yet.
Humph.
Most likely, we may not know for some time here. So, the fees, those 34 charges, the ones similar to Trump’s refunds to Michael Cohen for the payment of Stormy Daniels. Truth? But for it to be a crime, those 34 charges will have to come with the intent to dedicate or conceal some other crime. And for now, we don’t know what this crime consists of.
And the explanation for why we don’t know what it is is because prosecutors haven’t yet said what it is. So, possibly by adding those 3 stories into the overall case story, prosecutors are looking to provide a habit trend that will sell this underlying crime to a jury.
And one theory of this underlying crime, and kind to me if I’m wrong, is that it can also be a cross-finance offense. Because at the end of the day, the bills that were made to Stormy Daniels, in the eyes of many other people familiar with the law, would possibly have been illegal cross-donations. Correct?
That is precisely what it is. But we don’t know.
IT IS OK. So no matter what the crime is at the time or the underlying crime, whatever we need to describe it, whatever it is, why prosecutors tell all those stories, all 3 are because they’re saying you’re firmly identifying a type of Trump MO, a trend of custom that a jury can take a look at. And they think that makes it a more potent case.
100 percent. The task of a prosecutor is to tell a compelling story about Donald Trump. And they can tell a story that only comes to Stormy Daniels. But they don’t know what a jury will think.
Humph.
But if you tell a tale that comes to Stormy Daniels, and then you tell another story that’s similar to Karen McDougal, and you tell a third story that comes to a doorman, and in all of those stories, there’s this unusual thread, which is burying a potentially damaging set of facts to help the campaign. It can be much more convincing.
Because it’s not just a common story. This is a common intention. This is a common motivation of Donald Trump.
That’s exactly, right.
This afternoon, Donald Trump questioned an indictment of the New York Supreme Court issued by a Manhattan grand jury.
And later on Tuesday, I went to a press convention held by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The defendant made false statements in New York business records. He also induced others to make false statements.
And he talked about Trump committing the same illegal acts over and over again:
Today we assume our solemn duty that all be equivalent before the law.
– and why it is unacceptable to him.
Thanks a lot.
IT IS OK. So, Jonah, what happens next? Based on everything you learned on Tuesday, where is this case going now?
I think we’re going to continue to see this case spread in very, very different scenarios, on the crusade route in which Trump is running for president and in the courtroom, where he is impeached. And they’re two very different functions. be attractive to see if those are reconcilable roles. Because the Trump we saw in court today is very different from the one we’re used to seeing.
Well, you discussed earlier that the sentence passed in this case warned Trump not to run to annoy other people about the case. And does he impose restrictions on his movement or something similar to his crusade?
So we don’t know very well yet. But we’ll find out soon. They are similar to what is called a cover order that is being worked out between prosecutors and Mr. S. ‘s legal team. Attorney. Trump.
Humph.
And that’s going to dictate how Trump uses what happens in the courtroom on the campaign trail.
Interesting.
And prosecutors don’t need you to tweet evidence from the case. They don’t need me to reveal things you can’t reveal. You are asked not to even look at certain elements of the case unless you are in your lawyer’s office.
Humph.
So, we don’t know what will be in that final agreement. But there will be a document that will restrict what Donald Trump can do and what Donald Trump can say. And I’m very curious to see if you can take into account the terms of this document.
And what happens if it doesn’t?
If not, the judge will have to make a resolution on how to sanction the former president.
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
For so long, he combined legal disorder with political disorder. And he turned legal disorder into politics. And it’s one thing to do that when you’re under investigation. But that’s another thing entirely, when you’re an accused thief.
Well, Jonah, thank you very much. We do that.
Thank y
[Song of the Crowd]
¡USA. UU! ¡USA. UU! ¡USA. UU!
Thank you all very much. And we have to save our country. God bless you all. God bless you all.
On Tuesday night, Trump gave a speech about the Mar-a-Lago impeachment trial.
And I never thought something like this could happen in America. I never thought this could happen. The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly protect our country from those who seek to destroy it.
And despite the caution of prosecutors and the ruling on the case, Trump attacked the process and the opinion on himself referred to him, in quotation marks, as a “Trump hater. “
‘Ll.
Here’s what you want to know most today. In a political earthquake for Wisconsin and national politics, a liberal candidate, Janet Protasiewicz, won a very important seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, ousting most conservative justices. As a result, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in the coming year, is likely to overturn the state’s abortion ban and end the use of manipulated legislative maps that have given Republicans a blockade on force in the state. And-
[MUSIC IN PROGRESS]
On Tuesday, Finland became the 31. er NATO member state, a defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who decided to block NATO expansion but instead pushed Finland, which borders Russia, to join the alliance in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During a ceremony, the Finnish flag was raised at NATO headquarters. And the head of the alliance apparently warned Russia that NATO would continue to strengthen.
President Putin intended to slam the door on NATO. Today, the global one is appearing to us that it has failed, that aggression and intimidation do not work. Instead of less NATO, they gave him the opposite, more NATO.
Today’s episode was produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rob Szypko, Nina Feldman and Clare Toeniskoetter. Edited by Rachel Quester, Lisa Chow and Paige Cowett. It contains original music by Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel and Dan Powell and designed by Chris Wood. Our main theme is through Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Maddy Masiello.
That’s it for “El Diario. ” I’m Michael Barbarian. See you tomorrow.
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Moderated by Michael Barbaro
Produced by Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rob Szypko, Nina Feldman and Clare Toeniskoetter
Edited by Rachel Quester, Lisa Chow and Paige Cowett
Original music by Marion Lozano, Dan Powell and Corey Schreppel
Designed by Chris Wood
The line for bloodhounds seeking to be in the courtroom for Donald J. Trump’s impeachment trial in Manhattan began education at 2 p. m. Monday, more than a day before the former president faces trial in a case focused on silent payments.
One of those who entered Jonah Bromwich, corrupt justice correspondent for The Times.
He tells us what the interior of the courthouse was like while Mr. Trump was indicted on 34 counts.
Jonah E. Bromwich, justice correspondent for The New York Times.
Trump pleaded guilty and then sat quietly as lawyers argued.
The former president is accused of orchestrating a quiet cash scheme to open his path to the presidency and then hiding it from the White House.
There are many tactics to pay attention to The Daily. Here’s how.
Our purpose is to make transcripts available the next business day after an episode is posted. You can place them at the top of the page.
Jonah E. Bromwich contributed to the report.
Special thanks to Maddy Masiello.
The Daily is directed by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, MJDavis Lin, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Robert Jimison, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Anita Badejo, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Chelsea DanielArray Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Sofia Milan, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong and Devon Taylor
Our theme song is through Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk from Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Wendy Dorr, Julia Simon, Isabella Anderson, Desiree Ibekwe, Renan Borelli, Mahima Chablani, Nell Gallogly, Jeffrey Miranda, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer and Maddy Masiello.
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