Skip to main content

tv   The Faulkner Focus  FOX News  May 7, 2024 8:00am-9:00am PDT

8:00 am
mark, i think you expressed the most disdain for this case happening but we're at the point where trump asked for a phone number and they arranged to have a dinner in california. we were almost on that day. >> yeah. all of what they've said so far they've allowed in. i'll say okay, it establishes something the prosecution has to prove. if they go any further and allow her to get into the salacious details about what they did in that room, i'm done. that would be so problematic and then any respect i have for this judge is out the window. it shouldn't come in. it is more prejudicial than prob probative. >> the president speaks from the holocaust museum at 11:30. >> harris: they were just mentioning the president. he is in fact going to speak
8:01 am
coming up at any moment now during the beginning of this 11:00 hour on the east coast. he is set to leave the white house and make his way to capitol hill. and then again he will be speaking and it is a ceremony honoring this week's holocaust days of remembrance. the president there and, of course, the white house says he will pay tribute to the 6 million jews killed in the holocaust after which the world vowed never again. well, he will also be put in a position to condemn the deadliest day for jewish people since the holocaust and that would be october 7th of 2023. that was the day that hamas savages invaded israel and slaughtered 1200 innocent people. the speech with the comments he is making will happen against the back drop of an explosion of jewish hate in america. protesting taking over college
8:02 am
campuses and plaguing cities nationwide and for weeks we have been hearing the chants of death to israel, death to america. all eyes are on the president's message. and we're looking to see if there will be an unconditional combination of the hate and violence along with his remarks to condemn it but also any movement today in the support of israel. we'll bring you all of it as it happens live. now we'll get to this. sex film worker stormy daniels is on the stand right now and it is a blockbuster moment for president donald trump's new york criminal trial. daniels is the person at the core of the case, although there are questions about really what she can add. we'll get into that. she does add salaciousness. you would rather say that's her professional gift. today she is sitting just feet
8:03 am
away from the president. she looks at the jury in the eyes for the very first time. stormy daniels testifying right now. i'm harris faulkner and you are in "the faulkner focus." former president trump's attorney michael cohen is also expected to testify in the coming days. we don't have the exact schedule day-to-day so when stormy daniels popped up we got that. judge juan merchan ruled again yesterday trump violated his gag order and issued another fine and also threatened trump with jail time for future violations. former u.s. attorney brett tolman said the threat could actually work against the judge and in trump's favor. >> the judge is boxing himself in his own corner at this point. how does anybody that is in the position of donald trump, who knows it is an unconstitutional order, how does he with all of his ability to communicate to the american people, how does he
8:04 am
not make comments and not talk about this case? it's the judge who has now put himself in this position and he will have to put him in jail because he has now threatened it. otherwise he looks feckless and the president gets stronger. >> harris: eric shawn is outside the u.s. state supreme court. we can get the moment by moment what's going on inside the courthouse with stormy daniels on the stand. >> hello, harris, 18 years after they allegedly had a sexual encounter in a lake tahoe hotel room storm' daniels and former president donald trump are in the same room together face-to-face. she is right now testifying against him. as she took the stand in the last half hour or so, ms. daniels appearedn nervous. she is explaining her background saying she went into adult entertainment because she can make more money in two hours than shoveling manure eight
8:05 am
hours a day. she just started getting to the point where she met the former president at that charity golf tournament in 2006 explaining that she thought he was old, as old as her father and did not at first want to go to dinner with him. the invitation coming from mr. trump's bodyguard. before she took the stand trump's lawyers tried to keep out the details of the alleged sexual encounter with trump but judge merchan said he will allow prosecutors to ask limited questions about that. she is expected to describe some of the details of meeting trump at that charity golf tournament and why she was paid to keep quiet about it. prosecutors say the reason was to hide her claims from voters but the defense says it was to protect the trump family and the trump brand. prosecutors say trump -- he has denied that. yesterday the jury did see the checks that mr. trump made out to michael cohen. they formed the basis of the 34
8:06 am
counts of filing false business records. but when it comes time for the defense to cross-examine ms. daniels you can expect fireworks. it will likely be a searing cross examination. they may also point out that the non-disclosure agreement, like the one she signed, is legal and that she never had a conversation with trump about the 2016 election. the former president has always denied that he did not have an affair with ms. daniels as she has claimed. the judge is allowing some details in 20 minutes from now on the stand. we'll bring that to you as it happens. back to you. >> harris: thank you very much. we have moment by moment coverage of what is happening inside the courtroom. we have journalists and producers there as well and legal experts on our team inside that courtroom. we'll bring it to you as it happens. just a note, off to the right of your screen you will see the box with who is on the stand now, who went first and now who is up
8:07 am
there now, stormy daniels and some play-by-play of what's going on. stormy daniels said she had no expectations but to meet trump and go to dinner. so you will see that is in concert with what we are reporting here moment by moment. if you want to just look up at the screen and say wait, what did i miss? that's a quick way to do it. keep it on fox. in "focus" now tom dupree, former assistant attorney general is with me now. i want to get texture of what her testimony could mean. why call her? everything i've read does not point to any specific moment that she can speak to that helps them win their case. >> you are right. her testimony is a little bit peripheral to the main issues in the case. i can't imagine stormy daniels knows anything how the trump organization characterized these payments for accounting purposes or anything like that. the charges that the d.a. needs to prove. so her testimony is a little irrelevant. that said, i think the prosecutors want a chance to
8:08 am
dirty up trump to air sordid dirty laundry before the jury. i think the big question is just how far this judge plans to let them go today. we know there were discussions before her testimony where the trump defense team was trying to limit the scope of what she could talk about. the judge seemed to recognize there needs to be some limits on what she can say before the jury. it will be really interesting as this day moves forward to see exactly how much she is allowed to get into. >> harris: i look forward to you staying with me. right now let's bring into the conversation three of us on the screen now, kerri urbahn, fox news legal editor at the courthouse. i told you our legal team is there, too, and has been monitoring the trial from inside the overflow room. first of all, anything brand-new with regard to stormy daniels before we launch into questions? >> not yet. i just stepped out to talk to you and we are just hearing the history of her life and then how she initially met donald trump
8:09 am
at a golf tournament. things we already knew. >> harris: i don't know if you guys have had a chance to check out "the new york times" article on her. i mean, it is by michael rothfeld and reads like a book. she writes she still distributes adult content on only fans and some of her current salacious work. this is the sort of thing that you and i have been talking about as peripheral to the case. people have described her as a good old louisiana girl. she is a mom, amazing writer and director. yet also in this article it talks about how she wanted to be on the apprentice and how desperate she was to be on there. some of the ways she has used the trump name in terms of being connected to him. how does any of this help the prosecution? how does any of this help the
8:10 am
defense? >> you don't need to read that article to get a sense of who stormy daniels in if you look at her x feed you will have a really good sense of what she is about and what she is interested in. as far as what would help the prosecution here, my assumption is they will hone in on whether she had any kind of conversations with trump after this encounter and if he ever expressed concerns to her about how this encounter could impact his chances at becoming president. now, of course, the defense will cross her and i imagine they will bring out that compensation for non-disclosure agreement that ended up happening from trump to stormy daniels. he would say michael cohen paid her is not illegal. while we hear a lot of salacious information and things that would certainly be headlines on the front page of a tabloid, we are here in a court of law and it is about whether or not
8:11 am
donald trump committed a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. again, payment, compensation for non-disclosure agreement as a legal expense is not illegal. >> harris: she lost a defamation case to donald trump, no? >> yeah. >> harris: if i remember correctly they gave her a discount. at the end of the day it wasn't $6 hundred thousand she had to pay but half a million dollars she needed to pay trump for attorneys fees and such because of that. talk about how that plays in. can the defense mention that? >> well, that's a good question. i am sure the defense will try to mention it. to my mind i think it will be a close question as to whether the judge allows the defense to bring that in. he may say that's not relevant and we don't want the jury to hear about it. the trump team will try to bring that in. to your point stormy daniels being complicated character she is. complicated characters make tough witnesses for prosecutors.
8:12 am
what they are trying to do today is basically to diffuse the notion that she is just a porn star, right? they want to portray her as a mom, independent business woman. someone capable of making judgments. i think to try to bolster her credibility before the jury and make the jury get rid of the stereotypes they brought when they first started hearing her testimony today. >> harris: she bolsters the stereotypes. she talks about it. i would think it would help the defense the fact she has talked so much. failed attempts to sell the story since 2011. shifting explanations for trying to sell her story. it is interesting. she says something happened with donald trump. she peddled it for years. in is what's going on on day 13 in the courtroom right now. kerri and tom. she looks directly at the jury while speaking and animated and using her hands to explain the layout of trump's hotel suites
8:13 am
and makes facial expressions. our people in the courtroom she shrugs sometimes suggesting like why not go to dinner? or she uses air quotes to your point, tom, who is describing her? she is. she uses air quotes when saying she was a porn star. and made, you know, real scripts or real movies, all of that in air quotes. redefining the words air quotes. kerri. >> you know, stormy daniels in general has presented pretty casually her appearance is notably more casual than that of previous witnesses. she is speaking in an animated way. in a casual way and conservational way. the jury may feel they are getting the real story from someone authentic. again you have to remember what her attorney testified about
8:14 am
last week. if you recall what the cross brought out during his testimony was that her lawyer had a history of squeezing high profile people, celebrities when they were in tough spots for money. it is pretty intentional that's the lawyer she sought out when donald trump had announced his run for presidency. it looked like they saw an opportunity in him to get her money when he was most likely to pay given the nature of what was happening and also important to remember that the controller testified yesterday that donald trump was not just concerned about negative stories when it came to his personal image but how it would affect his brand globally. of course, his brand and business have continued throughout his presidency. these are all things that matter in terms of undercutting for the defense, the prosecution's case since they are driving this theme that he only did this because he was running for president. but again, even if that's true, it is not illegal. >> harris: you know, this has been built up, tom, has a huge
8:15 am
day in the courtroom for the prosecution. and i'm wondering how much specifics will count if it helps donald trump and the defense or if they will help the prosecutor. here are some specifics. stormy daniels said she can describe the hotel room and goes on to say it had big flowers. she called his name hello and trump came from the main area. trump was wearing silk or sat-in page am yeahs. trump changed wearing a dress shirt and dress pants. whether or not this actually happened. >> well, i think that's where she will be helping the prosecution. in other words, if trump's defense strategy is going to say this encounter never happened. her testimony before the jury would be evidence that it did happen. the fact that she is providing
8:16 am
these somewhat graphic details and specific details that he was wearing satin pajamas but at the end of the day the d.a. isn't trying to prove there was an -- it gets to my point. so much of what is happening today is peripheral. the prosecutors are clearly trying to paint an image of donald trump engaged in this encounter before the jury. if i were trump's defense team i would be jumping up objecting to the testimony trying to shut it down. telling the judge it is not relevant. they are painting a prejudicial picture on issues peripheral to the case. i hope the defense team is doing their job and trying to limit, limit, limit her testimony today. >> harris: just shout out she had no direct interactions around the time of the said agreement with mr. trump or mr.
8:17 am
cohen, his attorney at the time. i mean, keep saying that because that would be true. i want to bring in jason chaffetz. fox news contributor and former utah congressman. let's dig into the politics of this. so the former president has been able to fundraise mightily during his time in and out of courtrooms. what does this mean wholly for democrats in particular who might be thirstyer than normal seeing storm' daniels or the stand >> i don't think it helps the democrats. it is a joke. you have a senior person at the department of justice leaves his job and go down and help prosecute trump. stormy daniels and donald trump got together 18 years ago? you have illegal immigration that's out of control. you have riots in new york city. you have crime that's rampant, you have people getting hurt and cashless bail and all these
8:18 am
problems and they are dealing with an accounting issue there in new york city? i don't think there is any reasonable person that looks at this and says oh, yeah, this is helpful. this is really justice in america. instead they are trying to suppress his first amendment rights and going after him to try to embarrass him on a salacious thing that has nothing to do with this. he paid a money for a non-disclosure evidently and categorized it as a legal expense. what else would he classify it as? they've never explained what he should have classified it as. but it is a legal expense to have an nda in place. it's common for somebody as high profile and high net worth as donald trump. >> harris: i have to tell you, look at your screen right now. one of the things the notes that we're getting in is that stormy daniels asked donald trump during the so-called get together night about his wife melania. she is giving those details that
8:19 am
get people's attention. again, none of you seem to think it will help the case. what i have in my email right now that is mandatory in her adult business, i can't even read the sentence, it is 11:18 a.m. and i will skip over that. but the courtroom is getting quite a show. kerri, i want to come to you last. i will bring you all back but last for this segment. so this is the case that goes first. this could take some time. what does this mean for the other cases against donald trump right now, if this is the case that goes first? >> because this case is so thin, tenuous and a legal theory that many analysts agree is dubious and not sure what exactly the prosecutors are prosecuting it undercuts the credibility, i would say, of cases coming down the pike where donald trump is more vulnerable. one thing that has become very
8:20 am
clear, the prosecution is trying to make salacious and dirty with illegal. is it dirty and uncomfortable and something we may not want to see in a public figure or leader? of course. that doesn't make it illegal. we're in a court of law and the crimes need to be proved and elements established beyond a reasonable doubt. >> harris: we're watching for the president to make some remarks. we'll get together as a team in a couple more minutes. a lot is happening right now simultaneously with stormy daniels at the new york versus trump trial on the stand she is right now. my friends, stand by. any moment now president biden set to speak at the holocaust remembrance ceremony. our nation is seeing an explosion of jewish hate on college campuses. last night some of these people were headed toward the met gala. when the school campuses close,
8:21 am
you can bet they will find new locations. will that be the streets of america? biden's response to all of it has been so little and so late according to critics. the white house with a preview of what we might hear today. >> you can expect the president to make clear that during these sacred days of remembrance, we honor the memory of the 6 million jews killed in the holocaust and recommit to heeding the lessons of this dark chapter never again. he will speak to the horrors of october 7th when hamas unleashed the most deadly day for jewish people since the holocaust and he will speak to how since october 7th, we've seen an alarming rise in anti-semitism in the u.s. and our cities and communities and our campuses. >> harris: biden is in a vice. he has to do all that, say all that and we pray he means it. but what he said about israel we're not so sure. is he really backing israel as
8:22 am
they stop the flow of ammunitions reportedly? we need to drill down on that. we need somebody to fill in the gaps whether or not that's really happening from our side, america. but meanwhile, hamas's stronghold is taking a beating. israel didn't slow down. they didn't go if full force on the ground but hum, they are on the ground and they have hit them from the air to try to eliminate the terrorist savages. israel used tanks to seize control of the gaza side of the rafah crossing in egypt where they moved about 100,000 people with pam fleets and information. biden says they must not do a ground invasion. i'm waiting for him to say
8:23 am
don't. it didn't work with iran. yesterday israel ordered people with get out of rafah trying to prove their humanitarian acumen showing the world they try to save lives but they have to get the terrorists. the white house again making its position clear. >> also want to take a moment to address the latest reports now out of rafah. i'll reiterate again that we cannot and will not speak for idf operations. but we made clear our views about operations in rafah that could potentially put more than a million innocent people at greater risk. >> harris: yeah, it's interesting when your enemies don't listen to your, your allies don't listen to you. who is listening to biden at the white house? jacque heinrich is at the white house. >> the u.s. is perhaps not at odds with israel but certainly on high alert after israel
8:24 am
rejected the counter proposal that hamas effectively gave yesterday when it claimed it had accepted a cease-fire resolution that was not true. the u.s. and israel characterized that as a counter proposal. israel rejected it. moved forward with a targeted operation in rafah while also sending a delegation to egypt to continue these negotiations. the biden administration has cautioned that it still opposes a large-scale operation in rafah that would endanger the lives of civilians but several administration officials told fox that what we have been watching unfold in rafah is not the kind of operation that gives them those kinds of very big concerns. the u.s. has proposed limited operations in rafah in the past when they've been trying to talk to israel about alternatives to the big ground operation they have been playing up. congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez doesn't realize that. she even called for the u.s. to
8:25 am
cut off offensive weapons for israel to use in rafah. take a listen. >> president biden stated very clearly that rafah is a red line when it comes to what the u.s. is or is not willing to support. and there is no place for these people to go. >> so the state department spokesman yesterday said the u.s. has proposed more limited operations. kirby says they agree to eliminate amass. a divide in what they think the president wants. >> harris: while we wait on the president's remarks i want to get back to the trump new york criminal trial with stormy daniels on the stand testifying about her encounter she says she had with former president trump 18 years ago. back with me now tom dupree and jason chaffetz. kerri urbahn is back in the
8:26 am
courtroom and we'll bring her back and forth. gentlemen, we get the play-by-play. i'm sure you are reading the fresh transcripts coming simultaneously out of the courtroom. i'm learning a lot more about stormy daniels than i thought we ever would and i'm still trying to understand how does she talk so much about donald trump? he has a gag order. didn't she have an nda? >> well sure, she is not subject to the gag order that trump is. so i don't think that the judge is going to be trying to constrain her testimony from the stand. look, i think right now the nda seems to have flown out the window. no one is trying to enforce that or prevent her from testifying. i don't know if it would limit testimony she would give in court in any event. what we're seeing now this judge is being exceedingly permissive in my view in allowing her to testify about all the details of
8:27 am
the encounter with trump. all these details we learn about, the pajamas, the back and forth and play-by-play in the hotel room. none of us has much legal relevance to the cases and charges the d.a. is pursuing here. they will capture headlines for days. when you ask people what they remember about this trial, these are the sorts of things that people will remember and not going to remember accounting ledgers. >> harris: does it hurt trump, jason? before you answer that i know our viewers are watching this. i love the fact we disappear when donald trump comes up so nobody misses anything. he came out of the courtroom. he pumped his fist and kept walking. they are in a bit of a break. we don't know how long. that was him if you looked up and said that's donald trump, you were absolutely right. so again my question, what does this mean for donald trump? >> nothing. it just means that i think america is totally disgusted with how new york is doing this. with all the other problems and challenges out there, we are
8:28 am
talking about something that supposedly happened roughly 18 years ago. we're months away from a presidential election and now suddenly the district attorney there is bringing this case so that it is happening in may of an election year? and you have a gag order on the leading candidate for the presidency of the united states? i mean, that is so surreal. i think most reasonable people look at that and say this is disgusting. i'm sure the democrats are over there giggling and saying this and that but you know what? most americans are reasonable and most americans look at that and say this is just over the top. this is so fundamentally wrong. it is not administering justice. >> harris: i'm told this break will be about ten to 15 minutes long. that usually what they are. they didn't break for lunch or anything. we're waiting to see the president come back. donald trump come back into the
8:29 am
courtroom and as the former commander-in-chief does so and makes any remark you will see them here. he did a fist bump. tom, talk to me if you would about michael cohen fits into all of this. they are saving him after stormy daniels and setting up their best paperwork play was going to be and we have yet to see him. >> right. they put michael cohen close to last for a reason. they know he is going to be to put it chair itably a very difficult witness. all the witnesses we've heard. almost all of them have testified to their distrust and not liking michael cohen. this is simply a man who can't be trusted. the prosecutors are in a difficult position. they don't have any choice but to put michael cohen on the stand because he really is the only witness who can at least allege that there was the direct
8:30 am
connection trump knew about the accounting treatment of these payoffs and that sort of thing. he is the guy they will have to rely on to prove their case. by the time he comes to testify, he has been getting beaten up by the other witnesses who have gone before him. >> harris: i am curious to know when these breaks are happening -- a lot can happen with your client. are you giving counsel at this moment and taking these moments in with the defense team and prosecutorial team to get ready? we don't get to see how they are reacting realtime. i want to dig into your mind. you have had so much experience, tom. >> i think what they are doing now is they are probably huddling up and discussing how they will go after stormy daniels on cross examination. once the prosecutors have walked her through the story and gotten everything out of her it will be the defense team's turn. a lot of thought needs to go into exactly how they want to
8:31 am
approach her as a witness. do they want to confront her directly on the encounter. do they want to establish the limit of her knowledge that she had no idea how trump organization was treating it from an accounting perspective. that's what they are doing now. >> harris: i'll ask you to sit by. we're awaiting the president should be back in just a few moments now into court. he may choose at that time to speak and you know we'll bring it to you live. meanwhile we know that president biden has some remarks that he has been said to be ready to make about holocaust remembrance days this week and also the back drop. we'll see, will he talk about the military moves that israel is making? his foreign policy? what is his foreign policy towards israel and our ally? all of it. we'll get into it. stay close. this customer had auto glass damage, but he was busy working from home... ...so he scheduled with safelite in just a few clicks. we came to his house...
8:32 am
then we got to work. we replaced his windshield... ...and installed new wipers to protect his new glass. >> customer: looks great. thank you. >> tech: my pleasure. >> vo: we come to you for free. schedule now for free mobile service at safelite.com. ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪
8:33 am
8:34 am
i'm jonathan lawson, here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85 and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54. what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80. what's my price?
8:35 am
$9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. options start at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate-lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information, and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling, so call now for free information. if you've ever grilled, you know you can count on propane to make everything great. but did you know propane also powers school buses that produce lower emissions that lead to higher test scores? or that propane can cut your energy costs at home?
8:36 am
it powers big jobs and small ones too. from hospitals to hospitality, people rely on propane-an energy source that's affordable, plentiful, and environmentally friendly for everyone. get the facts at propane.com/now. if you're a veteran wife, homeowner, and the family bookkeeper, you're the first to know when high rate debt is stressing your budget. but your family's service has earned you a big advantage. the va home loan benefit.
8:37 am
with the lower rate newday 100 va cash out loan, you can pay off high rate credit cards and car loans. that's real money you can use to take care of your family and home. >> harris: president biden has arrived at capitol hill to make his remarks. let's get back to the trump versus new york criminal trial that is now in a short break. we did just see the former president, donald trump, walk back into the courtroom. he gave a wave, did not make comments again. in and out. it was a very short break. as soon as it starts back up again shortly with stormyy -- stormy daniels on the stand. this is the pivotal moment for
8:38 am
stormy daniels. what kind of role do you think she is playing at this point? she doesn't have direct knowledge or as it has been written about direct interactions around the time of the alleged agreement that she be paid to be quiet. >> i think she is totally irrelevant. i think this is a day to promote her porn business or whatever it is she is working on. >> harris: only fans, i believe it was. >> it's totally irrelevant to the case. did the president write a check, yes, a check was issued. evidently to -- with the non-disclosure agreement. which is common practice. it's not illegal. so nothing that she has said evidently from the reporting we are getting has anything to do with anything that is illegal. and so i think the prosecution is desperate. i think they are trying to make this as salacious as they can
8:39 am
because i think that it achieves their only goal, to try to embarrass the president of the united states and keep him off the campaign trail and try to persuade voters that he did something wrong. but for something that supposedly happened 18 years ago? this seems absolutely ridiculous. >> harris: i want to add in too, tom. i asked you how she got out of the nda. she got out of it because she was subpoenaed in this case. there are a lot of people who sign ndas with their jobs and what not and curious how she could avoid hers. this is also a court and judge that has ignored attorney/client privilege with michael cohen. you know, i'm curious, tom, could the defense try to show stormy daniels as an extortionist? >> i think the defense is trying to show that she approached this entire encounter through a business lens. she really saw this not as so much a romantic opportunity but
8:40 am
an opportunity to advance her career and playing the game and having this encounter with donald trump. that's a theme we will hear repeatedly from the defense. she went into this with a particular motive and particularly if someone goes into something like this with a motive of using it to advance her career, that would justify saying let's have an nda because you don't want this person trying to continue to advance her career by going around talking about it all the time. so i suspect that's where the defense is probably going to go when it is their turn to cross-examine her. probe at the business motives that underlay her entire conduct throughout this matter. >> harris: i don't know how she could defend that actually. five years after they met at that lake tahoe resort and did what she said they did, in 2011 she was peddling the story. in fact, ended up that's how she got to this point. she was trying to sell it. a former assistant, ronna graph,
8:41 am
who has been on the stand, says after questioning by prosecutors earlier in the trial that stormy daniels phone number was in a list of donald trump's contacts and that she had seen her in the reception area of her office. others have said she was really trying to get on "the apprentice." and she talked about her quotes about how she really wanted to get on "the apprentice." if this had anything to do with that and this was transactional. what do you make of that? >> that potentially is her motivation. i don't think her motivation necessarily matters in a legal case that is about the documentation on a political campaign but again, if we will go there and the judge is going to allow that to happen, and they are going to get to that point, i believe the last time stormy daniels -- correct me if i'm wrong. i want to be accurate.
8:42 am
didn't she lose a defamation case to president trump? and was ordered to pay i think hundreds of thousands of dollars? her credibility is -- $6 hundred thousand. i think they reduced it to $5 hundred thousand. it is highly questionable. she doesn't come with credibility. that's for sure. >> harris: tom, i was asking if it could come into play. an extortionist trying to go through this situation to donald trump to get her name out there next to his. she is selling books, she is doing all of these things, and i'll talk, 2011, i have a story to sell. i'm going to talk. this is a witness i can't really believe the prosecution would think would fly, particularly after what jason just mentioned with that defamation case that she lost against donald trump. she said i'll never pay him that $5 hundred thousand.
8:43 am
i guess judges won't hold her feet to the fire. >> look, my guess is the judge is probably going to have a tight rein on allowing that to come in. if i were the trump defense team i would try to put it in for exactly the reasons you mentioned. to show that she is a person who sued and lost and had to pay fees and all of that. i think it would be helpful to the defense. my guess is the judge will look skepticly if the trump team tries to introduce that. we see how he has ruled in the case. he will lean in favor of the prosecution when it comes to this issue. the prosecutor's problems here stormy daniels and michael cohen and pecker have big problems of their own. not viewed as credible in large part by the jury. they have skeletons in the closet. all sorts of issues that would lead to jury to think maybe there is reasonable doubt. prosecutors have a difficult uphill battle in this case, make no mistake. >> harris: we have one of our
8:44 am
journalists. the president from moments ago earlier today, i should say, he has come in and out of the courtroom. most recently gone out and shaking his fist and waving. this was earlier today when he spoke briefly. don't want anybody to think they have missed anything. our lydia hu, and attorney and also part of our fox family here as a journalist more to add on stormy daniels appearance. i got a better look when they exited and re-entered. she is wearing a black shirt with a black hooded sleeved lightweight long jacket type overcoat. it is like a long sweater. hair pulled back in a twist with a clip. doesn't look like she brushed it much. long pieces frame her face. her hair is two colors, brown or black. these are different sections. she is giving us some specifics
8:45 am
about what she sees as the person walking into the courtroom and i want to bring in now phil holloway, a former assistant district attorney and former police officer into this conversation. i know you are looking for different things. i'm bringing up potential extortion. i'm looking at this witness and wondering why she is on the stand. she is im material to the case. what do you see, phil? >> i agree her testimony is literally irrelevant to any of the issues related to whether there was some kind of a bookkeeping crime that took place. it is obvious this is a witness brought by the prosecutor for the purpose of making it salacious. they had a boring couple of days and this is the kind of witness that will certainly wake up a potentially sleepy jury and get them to pay attention to salacious and interesting details. but the details, if she has any, doesn't shed any light on the
8:46 am
alleged crimes that were committed relating to how trump supposedly kept his books. listen, this is a witness who can be destroyed on cross examination. not only has she made multiple inconsistent statements. she stated in 2018 that her involvement with president trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more. so if that's the case, how can it be so-called hush money if there is nothing to hush up? it is obvious she has a bias against donald trump. she owes him money and so if she gets him sent to jail in theory, then or even convicted, then she could perhaps be relieved from any obligation to pay any judgment. there are so many things going on with stormy daniels. honestly, i can't really understand why the prosecutor bothered to bring her in the first place because she adds nothing to the case. she could potentially sink the prosecutors' case. >> harris: i will keep you for
8:47 am
another one. the judge is back on the bench and see from the side bar there that stormy daniels is continuing to talk about what she says happened in that lake tahoe hotel room. their interaction with former president trump. but anyway the judge came back in and asked the defense if they had spoken with their client. one of his attorneys confirmed yes. no one in the courtroom outside of the defense and judge seemed to know what exactly they needed to speak with trump about. judge merchan also says the degree of detail we are going to is unnecessary and asks to move things along. now that is interesting. that's in concert, tom, with what you were saying. we are getting way deep in this. the jury again are back in and just a little bit more color. she did not look at trump as she came back in. the jury was being seated. phil, i come back to you with a very simple question.
8:48 am
if the judge is telling you to move things along and things are too detailed, is there any advantage that the defense can kind of pounce on now? and, of course, we don't know what the judge said they needed to talk with trump about. >> the part about speaking with trump is very interesting. it is too early in the case to be having discussions about whether an accused person is going to elect to testify or not. that's the kind of thing that judges often inquire with defense counsel, have you spoken with your client about testifying and if so does he have a decision? that is what we would expect. it just seems like it is too soon. the state doesn't appear to be anywhere close to being resting. we'll have to watch that one closely. as far as the moving it along business, harris, yes, the judge is signaling -- this is a judge who -- i don't think anybody will say see a pro trump judge. the arguments are strong he is
8:49 am
biased against the defendant in this case, former president trump. if he is telling the prosecutor to move it along he is probably doing the prosecutor a favor so they don't continue to put the jury to sleep with irrelevant testimony. >> harris: look, i chose to skip some words earlier. i did see condom a couple of times. the prosecution is trying to get her to say or ask her questions in which i'm sure they knew what her answers would be that brings salaciousness and nastiness into this. interesting but irrelevant. tom, what happens on cross examination right now? where would you go with her? >> well, i think i would go and probing the motives for the way she has conducted herself from the moment she met donald trump at the golf course up through now. in other words, i would try to disabuse the jury of any notion that she is kind of a fawn in the woods. that she is an innocent. no, she is a savvy,
8:50 am
knowledgeable, intentionally acting person who approached this transactionally. that's one point you absolutely need to make clear. the other thing i would do, harris, i would also make clear the limits of her knowledge. in other words, this case focuses on accounting treatment of payments. i would make abundantly clear to the jury that stormy daniels has absolutely no knowledge of any of that so the jury will get the message that maybe she has some salacious details to share but as to her knowledge about the issues the jury will be voting to convict or acquit on, she doesn't know anything. that's what i would try to hit on cross examination. >> harris: jason politically, what phil was saying is oftentimes -- we don't know what they talked about, this judge telling the defense you need to tell something to your client, have you done that yet as the color was from our journalist inside the courtroom. oftentimes the conversation can be and at some point will be does your client want to
8:51 am
testify. politically how does it play if trump chooses or not to take the stand? >> look, donald trump has taken every bit of conventional wisdom and probably does the opposite. it has always worked. he is a charming, endearing personality. i have think his ability to win over a jury, he will want to do that. he will want to look those 12 jurors in the eye and be able to talk to them and be able to tell them from his heart what he was doing. and to that degree, i think he will do it. i'm sure every legal expert and every legal advice he'll say don't do it, don't do it. donald trump does things different and he usually prevails. >> harris: phil, we're sfanding -- standing by for the president to make his remarks. where would you start with cross examination? >> i'll go after her bias and
8:52 am
her motive to fabricate testimony. i'll go after her prior inconsistent statements and i am going to show the jury, on top of that we'll also hammer home the irrelevant relevance of most of this. we recently saw the reversal by the appeals court in new york of the harvey weinstein conviction because a judge let too much nonsense that was irrelevant and too far removed from the issues in the case, let all that in and it cost a conviction in a major case up there. i think this is part of what the judge must be having top of mind because trial judges, if nothing else, don't like to get reversed. when you start letting in lots of irrelevant things that do nothing other than slime the defendant, now you are in the possibility of reversible error territory. >> harris: haven't they already gone down that road? i won't read the entire transcript. >> we are probably already there. >> harris: the president of the
8:53 am
united states, joe biden is speaking right now. gentlemen, stand by for more of the trump versus new york trial. here is biden. >> holocaust memorial museum. you are a truly scholar and statesman and a dear friend. speaker johnson, speaker jeffries, members of congress, especially the survivors of the holocaust. my mother would look at say god love you all. god love you all. foxman and all the survivors who embody courage, dignity and grace are here as well. during these sacred days of remembrance, we grieve, we give voice to the 6 million jews who were systematically targeted, murdered by the nazis and their collaborators during world war ii. we honor the memory of victims, the pain of survivors, the bravery of heroes, who stood up to hit lear's unspeakable evil
8:54 am
and recommit to heading and heeding the lessons in one of the darkest chapters in human history to revitalize eyes and realize the responsibility of never again. never again simply translated for me means never forget. never forget. never forgetting means we must keep telling the story. must keep teaching the truth, must keep teaching our children and our grandchildren and the truth is, we are at risk of people not knowing the truth. that's why growing up my dad taught me and my siblings about the horrors at our family dinner table and why i visited -- with my family as a senator, as president and vice president and why i took my grandchildren to dachau so they could see and bear witness to the perils of
8:55 am
indifference, complicity of silence in the face of evil they knew was happening. germany, 1933, hitler and his nazi party rise to power. by rekindling one of the world's oldest forms of prejudice and hate. anti-semitism. his rule didn't begin with mass murder. it started slowly across economic, political and social and cultural life. propaganda demonizing jews, boycotts of jewish businesses, synagogues defaced with swastikas, harassment of jews in the street and the schools. anti-semitic demonstrations, programs, organized riots, with the indifference of the world hitler knew he could expand his
8:56 am
rule by the genocide, the nazis called it the final solution, concentration camps, gas chambers, mass shootings, by the time the war ended, 6 million jews, one out of every three jews in the entire world, were murdered. this ancient hatred of jews didn't zbin with the holocaust and didn't end with the holocaust either. our even after our victory in world war ii. this hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world. and it requires our continued vigilance and outspokenness. that hatred was brought to life on october 7th of 2023 on the sacred jewish holiday, the terrorist group hamas unleashed the most deadly day of the jewish people since the holocaust. driven by ancient desire to wipe
8:57 am
out the jewish people off the face of the earth, over 1,200 innocent people, babies, parents, grand parents, slaughtered in their kibbutz. massacred at a music festival. brutally raped, sexually assaulted. thousands more carrying wounds from the terrible day they endured. hundreds taken hostage, including survivors. now here we are. not 75 years later, but just 7 1/2 months later and people are already forgetting. already forgetting that hamas unleashed this terror. it was hamas that brutalized
8:58 am
israelis. it was hamas who took and continue to hold hostages. i have not forgotten nor have you and we will not forget. [applause] >> as jews around the world continue to cope with this aftermath we've seen a ferocious surge of anti-semitism in america and around the world. vicious propaganda on social media. jews forced to keep their -- tuck their jewish stars into their shirts and college campuses jewish students blocked, harassed, attacked, while walking to class.
8:59 am
anti-s anti-semitism. slogans, posters calling for the annihilation of israel. the world's only jewish state. too many people denying, down playing, rationalizing, ignoring the horrors of the holocaust. and october 7th, including hamas's appalling use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize jews. absolutely despicable and it must stop. silence. [applause] silence can hide much but it can erase nothing. soave are so honeous, so horrific and grievous they cannot be buried no matter how hard people try.
9:00 am
in my view, major lesson of the holocaust is, as mentioned earlier, it was not inevitable. we know hate never goes away, it only hides. given a little oxygen it comes out from under the rocks. we also know what stops hate. one thing. all of us. the late rabbi described anti-semitism as a virus that survived and mutated over time. together we cannot continue to let that happen. we have to remember our basic principles as a nation. we have an obligation, an obligation to learn the lessons of history. don't surrender our future to the no safe harbor against anyone. anyone. in our very founding jewish americans represent only about
9:01 am
2%

0 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on