Transcripts For MSNBCW Ana 20240703

And right now on ana cabrera reports, Breaking News, Extreme Weather turning deadly in texas. At least four People Killed after torrential rain and tornados rip through the lone star state. We have the latest from houston. Plus, Michael Cohen dueback on the stand monday. Has the defense delivered any knockouts to the prosecutions star witness. And desperately needed aid finally reaching gaza by sea. Why humanitarian groups warn its not nearly enough. We made it to friday. It is 10 00 eastern, im Ana Cabrera Reporting from new york. We begin with that Breaking News from texas where at least four people have been killed from a powerful storm system. It knocked out the lights to more than a million homes along the gulf coast, Spawning Tornados and floods, destroying property. Heres a look at some of the debris flying just outside the lobby. This is a houston skyscraper there, and then look at that, the Blownout Windows Leaving Gaping Holes all the way up the side of houstons downtown wells fargo tower. Take a look at this electrical line, just bent basically in half and pulled to the ground. Lets get right to nbcs Priscilla Thompson on the ground in houston. What a mess, and of course as this turned deadly, its tragic. Whats the latest . Yeah, ana, good morning. It was a scary night for folks across Southeast Texas as those severe thunderstorms moved through. Were here in downtown houston, parts of which look like a Disaster Zone this morning. Take a look at this building behind me. As you can see, the entire facade has just crumbled and this is just some of the damage that people are waking up to. Parts of texas and louisiana under water this morning after an intense night of storms left communities drenched and claimed the lives of at least four people in the houston area. In east texas, the river reached major flood stage, spilling into surrounding areas. High winds toppling trees and damaging Downtown Skyscrapers while knocking out power to more than 800,000 homes in houston. The rain even coming through the roof during an astro game at minute maid park. More than 20 Million People were impacted by the wet weather overnight, and with the soil saturated and rivers bursting in many areas, after weeks of relentless downpours, the latest rain has nowhere to go forcing some, like Angie Yarbrough to pack up the only home shes ever known. I cried and cried and cried about it. Its heartbreaking. 48 years ive been down here, and i cant i cant fight it anymore. I cant do it. Reporter the threat prompting a rare high risk excessive rainfall warning from the National Weather service. It was quick, but it had some heavy downpours. Reporter from east texas to western louisiana, houston mayor John Whitmire sending out this urgent plea. Stay at home tonight, stay at home tomorrow, so we have an opportunity to go into a full recovery mode. Reporter residents in hardhit communities now wondering what comes next. What do the next couple of months look like in terms of trying to get back on track . We dont know. Reporter and ana, unfortunately, the bad weather is not over yet. This storm is continuing to move east with millions potentially at risk across louisiana, alabama, and mississippi with parts of the gulf coast expected to get up to a foot of rain by saturday. Ana. Priscilla thompson, thank you so much for that reporting. Well be tracking it all closely. Thanks. Turning now to Donald Trumps Hush Money Trial. Court is dark today, so the former president can attend his sons High School Graduation leaving jurors with a threeday weekend now to think about that dramatic day of Cross Examination With Star Witness Michael Cohen where trumps Defense Attorney pressed cohen on his stream of lies, and what could be a huge inconsistency in his story. The defense says theyll finish their cross of cohen monday morning. And joining us now, New York Times Investigative Reporter Suzanne Craig whos been in the courthouse every day. Former manhattan assistant District Attorney catherine christian, and Trial Attorney terry austin who has also been in that courthouse. So suzanne, there was a moment yesterday that really stands out in the sevenplus hours of cross examination of cohen. That is when blanche pressed cohen about a key phone call that cohen said he had with trump about the Stormy Daniels payments in 2016. Blanche getting animated saying that was a lie. You did not talk to President Trump on that night. You talked to Keith Schiller. Cohen, im not certain that is accurate. Blanche goes on, were not asking for your belief. This jury does not want to hear what you think happened. You were watching this. How tense was that exchange . It was a moment no question. I mean, and what preceded it was hours laying the groundwork that Michael Cohen is a liar. Hes not a casual liar. Hes lied to congress. Hes lied on the stand, and they want you to believe hes now going to lie under oath. It went on for hours, and it really i was interested in it because it didnt really have a lot to do with the case, but the repetition was powerful that he was a liar, and then finally they land this questioning that had to do with the case, and i thought it was powerful because theyd really set the table for it. Im not sure in the end, though, ive thought a lot about it. You know, the call came in. You know, Michael Cohen was getting these prank calls from this alleged 14yearold, and he finally unmasks who the numbers because the person forgot to block it on one of these multiple calls that Michael Cohen had been getting, and he actually reached out to Keith Shiller and told him about it, and Keith Schiller said call me. So that call definitely was supposed to be about the prank calls. Michael wanted to report it to the secret service. He says in that call Keith Schiller also passed the phone to former President Donald Trump and told him about some of the details of the hush money case. Thats whats being called into question. Both could have happened, but i thought the defense was effective In Discrediting Michael On that one point. Does it undermine all of his testimony . I saw it more as a political blow. Its important that the jury believe michael. Theres a lot of documents and a lot of evidence in the case that has come in thats powerful, but michael is key to criminal intent, but im not sure it undermined everything he said. Were going to find out. For the most part i find that the defense still hasnt touched a lot of the actual case. Theyve got this one conversation that theyve now, you know, i think thrown some doubt on. They still theres so much else including phone conversations, recorded conversations between the former president and Michael Cohen about the hush money payment. Well, and that was specifically related to karen mcdougal. Let me get your take on that moment in court. I think it was a huge moment, no doubt about it. I think the defense has been sort of floundering a little bit asking about all these prior lies. Thats not the important point. One of the important things blanche did on this question is, listen, on direct examination, you didnt say anything about this. All you said was i talked to donald trump about Stormy Daniels. Why didnt you mention it on direct . Thats the key point. Its fine for the jurors to think, okay, he lied all these other times, home equity loan. He lied under oath for congress. Hes made up for all of that. But here, jury, he lied to you and i think thats what made it such a big point. I was watching those jurors, they absolutely were going back and forth, blanche and cohen, and cohen didnt respond well. One of the things he can was, hmm, well im not so sure and i think and i believe. And those things arent the type of responses you should say, and he did finally say, look i dont remember the exact day. I dont remember the exact time, but i remember the content. So he came back a little bit. I think he was caught out. They hadnt prepped him on it. I think it was sort of new. I felt like he was seeing it for the first time because i dont think he lied. It was sort of more he didnt bring it up. I think hed forgotten about it. How problematic is it if blanche convinces the jurors that cohen was wrong about this call. Does that blow up the whole case . Its a problem if on recent the prosecutors do not clear that up. You can say its maybe the prosecutors fault. It was their direct examination where he said this is the day i told former President Trump about what Stormy Daniels, the whole scenario. They probably should have found those texts too and said and i also talked about x, y, and z and about the 14yearold, and that didnt happen. So on cross examination, you may not get a Knockout Punch. Its about creating that reasonable doubt. And do you think they had a Knockout Punch . They didnt have a Knockout Punch, but you dont need it if you can just keep, you know, pecking away, getting little nuggets. I mean, Michael Cohen is a liar. The jury basically knew that and to keep hammering it, hammering it, hammering it, which is probably one of the reasons you dont want him to be your last witness, the prosecution decided to do that. That was their choice. Looking ahead here, we understand that the process is supposed to wrap up on monday and then what . Theyre still leaving the door open that donald trump could testify. Im not seeing that happen. I think thats more political posturing, but thats a possibility. There could be another witness that comes in from the government, but i think were really heading into Closing Arguments next week, and then into Jury Selection or sorry Jury Selection into deliberations, yeah. So terry, what do you think is going through the thinking of the defense team on whether to call any witnesses, an Expert Witness or even for donald trump himself to testify . Because, again, blanche, his attorney said they had not made a decision on trumps testimony yet. Exactly, and the judge was thinking about this Expert Witness. Weve already heard them talk about whether or not hes going to be able to talk about Campaign Finance law. One of the things the judge doesnt want is for someone else to give the law for the case. Thats judge merchans role. They talked about it, and if, in fact, this expert comes in on behalf of the defense, they can only talk about generalities. They can talk about wide definitions, but they cant say what the law is in this case, and they cant apply the facts to the law in this case. So i think if they call this Expert Witness, its going to be very little effect on the jury because hes just going to be talking about generalities. They could call someone else. They could call Keith Schiller. If they were to call Keith Schiller and Keith Schiller said that never happened, i never handed the phone to donald trump, and he never talked to donald trump about Stormy Daniels, that would be huge. Well have to see if they call a fact witness or any other Expert Witness. Michael cohen is supposed to be the last witness for the prosecution. At end of the day, was that the right call . Well, he is the last witness. I wouldnt have used him as the last witness, but they feel that theyre confident that theyve thoroughly corroborated him and have enough circumstantial evidence, why not him. I dont believe the defense is going to call any witnesses. Why call an Expert Witness who can just talk about generalities. Keith schiller, that opens the door to him being cross examined about a whole bunch of stuff involving donald trump. They would be wise not to call anyone, and i dont believe a snowballs chance in that dark place that donald trump is going to testify. And were not expecting to hear from Allen Weisselberg, but we kept hearing his name over and over again. He was like sort of this missing puzzle piece, the only other person who cohen says was part of these conversations. We saw his handwriting on some of these allegedly falsified documents, suzanne. How big of a deal is that . Neither side wants to see him. He is in rikers. Hes up for the jury probably wants to see him. What do i make of his absence. I think the jury would love to see him. I dont think either side is going to bring him in for Credibility Reasons and other reasons. I dont think Donald Trumps lawyers want him open to a cross. Hes the one, i think, Keith Schiller and Allen Weisselberg are the two that the jury would love to see that are just never going to make an appearance in the courtroom. Catherine, could it backfire on prosecutors not to of i was just thinking as suzanne was saying that, why didnt we hear from these two people. Theyre not going to hold that against the defense. Theyre going to hold it against the prosecution. Hopefully the prosecution says thats not what the jurors are thinking. Were missing this piece here. We need that person who came up with the scheme and has the notes and the hole in the accounting, thats Allen Weisselberg, and Michael Cohen and Allen Weisselberg were sort of acting on their own. Theres been pieces, you know, on various days that have really led jurors to think that, you know. Michael cohen was just hell bent on revenge, and he was freelancing all of this, and he was aided by Allen Weisselberg. Hes sort of a useful prop in that way. I dont think were going see him. Hes loomed large over this trial as Keith Schiller has. This whole trial is a big case study. Closing arguments could happen as soon as monday afternoon, tuesday more likely, right . How are both sides preparing for that . I think theyre going through all of their notes, obviously, and checking off where they made some good points. One of the things that i would advise the defense is make sure its chronological. Make sure you go through those points and its not disorganized. I think the cross examinations so far have been a bit disorganized. As for the prosecution, they have to hit home the 34 counts, those invoices, the ledger, the checks, they have to hit home. Here is all of the documentary evidence. You falsified these records, and you did it to influence the election. Theyre going to have to hit home on Closing Argument about those comments. Those conversations that donald trump did have when he said i dont care about my wife, melania. I care about what the women voters are going to do. Thats important. They have to show intent. This is an intent crime. Theyre going to have to focus on what donald trump was thinking, and theyre going to get that not just through the documents but what people have been saying, and those people, one of the main people, was Michael Cohen. Terry austin, catherine christian, and Suzanne Craig, thank you all so much. Really, really appreciate it. Youre doing really great work too as you report out this trial, and well dig deeper up next into how the jury reacted to Michael Cohens dramatic testimony on the stand with insight from a Trial Strategy Consultant who has worked on several high profile criminal cases from Martha Stewart to leona helmsly. And donald trump hits battleground, minnesota. And later the other criminal trial of senator bob menendez facing corruption charges. Court is back this morning in that case. What an fbi agent said about needing two cash counting machines. Were back in 90 seconds. G machines were back in 90 seconds re stir that nice catch. Were still going for that perfect pizza. And with higher stroke risk from afib not caused by a heart valve problem,. Were going for a better treatment than warfarin. Eliquis. Eliquis reduces stroke risk. And has less major bleeding. Over 97 of Eliquis Patients did not experience a stroke. 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For nearly 160 years, pnc bank has been brilliantly boring so you can be happily fulfilled. Which is pretty unboring if you think about it. Today the courtroom in former President Trumps Hush Money Trial is dark leaving jurors now with three full days to consider what they heard from days of trumps former fixer Michael Cohen on the stand. But what exactly did they make of the dramatic testimony . And joining us now, Trial Strategy Consultant Julie Blackmon who has worked as a Jury Consultant to several high profile criminal defendants from Martha Stewart to Leona Helmsley and Senator Menendez in the first time he was tried. You have spent some time in the courtroom this week during the start of cohens time on the stand. I know you were observing the jurors very closely. What stood out . I was. I would say the thing that was most notable was their level of attentiveness. They were clearly involved. Some of them sat sort of chin up the whole time facing the witness and really being attentive. There were, you know, for the most part jurors dont react dramatically. I mean, this theres this new yorker cartoon that the jurors are throwing up in the jury box. The judge will say disregard that evidence. We dont see dramatic moments like that in real trials, but there was a moment in this case where i saw six of the jurors shift in position suddenly. They all kind of moved around and readjusted themselves at the same time. And it was the moment at which cohen in his direct testimony connected trump to events related to the election. And what did they tell you to see them move . They were moved not only physically but also emotionally by that moment of testimony, and trump at that moment in cohens testimony was reflecting on sort of the effect of what was happening. I mean, he said, you know, if i get past the election and win, thats great, and if i dont win, i dont care. Good testimony for the prosecution, something that the jurors reacted to visibly in that moment. Interesting. What are your thoughts on just how this jury has stayed together . The court has not lost a single juror. Theyve been there every day. Theyve been prompt. What does that tell you . It is remarkable. I think they have a sense of themselves as being a part of history. I think this is a moment where they understand the pivotal nature of their role, and i have to say ive been in and out of many courtrooms in my career, 40 years. Ive never been in a courtroom that felt like this courtroom. Its a courtroom where are there are officers who are wearing Bullet Proof Vests who are armed who stand throughout the entire trial, who stand in the center aisle. Who stand along the periphery of the courtroom, and who are themselves always in motion. Theyre scanning the aisles, theyre looking back and forth. I felt a little reluctant to scratch my ear while i sat there because we were being so closely surveilled, and i think the jurors have a sense of that. Theyre a part of that, and they see how important all of this is and how much attention its receiving. Not specifically from the press, although of course thats part of it, but from the court personnel, from the way in which theyre handled and processed and how carefully orchestrated this is because security is so important and because history is on the line. In fact, weve been hearing too in terms of the interests of this trial, there have been these long lines from outside the courthouse every day of public trying to get in, just, you know, could be any old person who is allowed to be in the courtroom if they have a seat. So jurors are told they should not weigh a defendants choice not to testify against them, but obviously its kind of this, you know, elephant in the room, right . Theyre aware if hes not going to testify, so if trump doesnt take the stand, do you think jurors will look at that in a neutral way . I think theyll do the best that they can to follow the law. I mean, i was just watching your show, and heard your guests opine about whether or not hell testify and saying, no. I kind of think he might. I mean, i think hes someone for whom this is an extremely high profile moment for him. This has never happened to someone whos been president and hes a president ial candidate, and he knows himself to be someone who can be persuasive, and i think he might testify. And that said, if he does not, the jury will follow instructions, and i believe will treat him fairly, will treat the whole process fairly. I think one of the other things to reckon with at this moment as were coming up on summations, is how really important summations are and how jurors hear summations and, in fact, hear all the testimony of the trial before they receive their instructions on the law. Theres a way in which their ability to know whats important in terms of the law is limited because they havent heard it yet. And so summations are especially important for pulling the evidence together in ways that are favorable to one side or the other in advance of hearing how all of that will read on the law. Okay. So the jury has a significant job to do in figuing all of this out. I think theyre very attentive to what the law requires. Julie blackmon, i really appreciate you being part of our conversation today. Thank you so much for sharing your insights and expertise. My pleasure, thank you for having me. Up next on ana cabrera reports, trump taking advantage of his day off from court for a Campaign Event in minnesota. A republican hasnt won this state since nixon. Can trump break that trend . And over in michigan, there is one group of voters up for grabs. Plus, new jersey senator Bob Menendezs criminal trial, the jaw dropping details from an fbi b agent on the stand about how much money they found in his home, and what were learning about a potential defense. Ing about a potential defense. Im not an actor. Im just a regular person. Much money they found in his home, and what were learning about a potential defense. Agent much money they found in his home, and what were learning about a potential defense. Earni about a potential defense. I started noticing subtle lapses in memory. I want people to know that prevagen has worked for me. Its helped my memory. Its helped my cognitive qualities. Give it a try. I want it to help you just like it has helped me. Prevagen. 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Dont miss out on our fastest speed plans yet switch to Comcast Business and get started for 49. 99 a month. Plus, ask how to get up to an 800 prepaid card. Call today . President trump got the day off from court for his son barons graduation right now in west palm beach, florida. Later today trump travels to minnesota, a state President Biden won in 2020, a state no republican president ial candidate has won since Richard Nixon. The former president says he believes he can flip minnesota, and hes heading to the states annual Lincoln Reagan dinner tonight. Its more than a thousand miles away from the new york city courthouse where the former president was initially scheduled to be, just like in minnesota, though, trump has been surrounding himself by a protective ring of loyalists in new york all week. Joining us now, nbc News Senior National politics reporter jonathan allen. Trumps been saying for weeks hes trapped in new york. He could be going to swing states. He can travel today, so why minnesota, which is pretty blue. Thats a great question, ana. As you noted before, long before you were born, long before i was born, minnesota voted for a republican president ial candidate, Richard Nixon in his reelection in 1972, and they have not decided to go in that direction since. Trump was looking at some internal Polling Numbers that suggest that its very competitive there. As you noted, joe biden won by about seven points in minnesota. When you talk to minnesota democrat, they feel very confident in their ground game there. They have a pretty strong Party Organization with whats known as the Democratic Farm Labor Party there. And so they feel like theyre in good position, but they are not taking it for granted. Governor tim walz of minnesota and senator tina smith are doing some counter programming against trump on behalf of the Biden Campaign today. Look, if trump wins minnesota, its a good indication of a rout on election night. More Trump Groupies have been showing up here in new york for the trial, including just yesterday nearly a dozen republican members of the house. So many that they actually risked control of the house floor and jeopardized some votes because of their absence. What do you make of it, Business On The Hill seemingly taking a backseat over this trial . Not just the votes on the floor, but there was a Committee Hearing yesterday, the House Oversight committee was supposed to meet at 11 00 a. M. Yesterday to consider Contempt Charges against Merrick Garland. This is one of the huge political issues that republicans have been talking about because the Justice Department has not handed over an Audio Recording of special counsel robert hurs interview with joe biden. They were supposed to do that at 11 00 yesterday morning. Instead several members of the Oversight Committee were standing with donald trump doing the political cover for him outside the courthouse, and they ended up doing that hearing last night i think at about 8 00 p. M. , you know, ended up being a very contentious and ugly hearing as folks who have been paying attention to the news this morning have seen with some name calling. So yeah, they ditched their jobs in washington, went to new york. Obviously not actually part of the trial. Yeah, we do have that specific reporting on our show coming up, so thank you for the deep tease on that very dramatic House Oversight Committee Hearing. Jonathan allen, great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us. And in the next hour, President Biden is set to speak at the museum of African American history. Just this morning, the Biden Campaign releasing a Memo Outlining their efforts to reach black voters. The biden and Trump Campaign are looking to secure the votes of black men, but where could they land come november . Nbcs trymaine lee is joining us now. Youve been focusing on this. You went to detroit. What did you learn . Thats right. Theres a deep disconnect between the two Major Political parties and black men. Joe biden won michigan by just 125,000 votes last group of bln could make all the difference. If you want our votes, come work for it. Check it out. Whats up, sister . Reporter on detroits hardscrabble west side, it seems like everyone knows them. From block to block, this group of black men shows up day after day Rain Or Shine offering protection, resources, and respect. They are new era detroit, an organization that fills the often massive void between the people and the politicians. People come in and, you know, they come holler at us about things that they may need, you know, or if theyre struggling with their water bill, light bill, gas bill. Reporter theyre everyday faces in some of detroits most disinvested communities, but they feel invisible to those at the height of political power. We are one of the leading organizers on the ground in the city of detroit, literally. The closest that youre going to get to black people in this city. We havent heard anything from a democrat or a republican. Reporter men like them in communities like theirs could very well determine who was sent to the white house in 2024 with both democrats and republicans vying for their attention. I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time and a lot of people said that thats why the black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. Black men have not benefitted proportionate to other populations. Reporter while biden has locked down traditional black voters, black men are poised to become something of a swing rote. Some Polling Showing that trump is on track to capture a larger share of black voters than any other republican president ial candidate since 1996. Why do you think its been harder for them to connect to us . They just want to get the votes, and thats it. They dont care about nothing else. Reporter in recent months, biden, Vice President harris, have all made trips to michigan without visiting the kinds of areas they work in. Weve never seen these people. Theyre not real people. You know, and then when they come, you just said, yeah, they come to michigan and they come to these places, but its not in our places. Who among you is three going to vote . Raise your hand if youre definitely voting in this election. So just one, so you havent decided whether youre going to vote or not . Im undecided as of right now. Me and my family, were democrating. I dont know who im going to vote for. If you really want the black vote, spend more time in the black community with black people hearing about their problems. Reporter back on the streets, the brothers of new era are doing what they do best and what they say most politicians cant or wont do. Showing up for black people in a way they can feel. Now, ana, certainly most black voters are still lined up behind the democrats, but what were seeing is a generational divide. Mr. Williams is the only one whost going to vote and hes definitely voting for the democrat. The other are on the fence. Those might fall to the wayside. You are giving them a platform to get their voices, their concerns out there. The question is are the two president ial candidates and their teams listening. Thats right. Thank you so much. Up next on ana cabrera reports. The other criminal trial of a politician blocks away from Donald Trumps. What were learning from a witness about the Staggering Amount of money found in new jersey senator Bob Menendezs home. Fireworks on capitol hill, how this appearing related to President Bidens interviews about classified documents devolved into chaos. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person. Are your feelings hurt . Move your words down. Oh, girl, baby girl. But instead remade over and over. Into the things that keep our food fresher, our families safer, and our planet cleaner. To help us get there, americas plastic makers are investing billions of dollars to create Innovative Products and new Recycling Technologies for sustainable change. Because when you push for smarter solutions, big things can happen. What causes a curve down there . Is it peyronies disease . Will it get worse . How common is it . Who can i talk to . Can this be treated . Stop typing. Start talking to a specialized urologist. Because it could be peyronies disease, or pd. 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Viking. Exploring the world in comfort. i thought water would help with these dry spots. Thats lawn disease. But Scotts Healthy Plus will cure it lawn disease . Been going around. So like other people have it and its not. Pick up a bag of the new Scotts Turf Builder healthy plus lawn food today. Feed your lawn. Feed it. Petty insults about fake eyelashes and iq, body shaming, yelling. This was inside a House Oversight Committee Hearing last night that just devolved into a scene more akin to a real housewives reunion. Now, this all began when republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor greene took a shot at jasmine crocketts physical appearance, and then things really deteriorated. That is absolutely unacceptable, how dare you attack the physical appearance of another person. Are your feelings hurt . Move her words down. Oh, girl, baby girl. Oh, really . Dont even play. Baby girl . I dont think so. We are going to move, and were going to take your words down. I second that motion. Why dont you debate me. Mr. Chairman, the minority selfevident yeah, youre not you dont have enough intelligence. The chair recognizes mr. Perry. Okay, move to strike i move to strike i would like to order wow, this hearing was supposed to be about whether to recommend attorney general Merrick Garland be held in Contempt Of Congress over the doj withholding audio of President Bidens interviews with special counsel robert hur regarding handing of classified documents. President biden exerted executive privilege. The transcripts have already been released. The gopled committee did ultimately Vote Along Party Lines to hold garland in contempt. No word yet on whether the full house will take this up. Right now in new york, new jersey senator bob menendez is back in court for his federal bribery trial. Menendez is charged with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in return for official acts as a u. S. Senator. Joining us now with more on this, nbc investigative correspondent, tom winter. Bring us up to date on what weve heard in court so far. There was a lot about this june 2022 search of the senators home. What more can you tell us . Right, so the first agent or the first witness on the stand in this trial was the agent who led that search of the menendez home. And really what they want to do is paint a picture of what they found inside of it. Its the Bribe Component of it, the alleged bribe of the cash and the gold bars, exactly what you alluded to. So the agent testified and really walked the jury through the court. When he gets off the stand, well be able to see some of the photos inside the menendez home. It was a zillow tour of everything they uncovered, duffel bags of cash, they found gold bars. They found cash hidden in boots. They found cash in envelopes, just the types that you would go to the bank if you would ask them for a certain amount of cash. They would give you those white envelopes. They showed those as well. One of the interest things the agent testified to, they found so much cash, the normal procedure if you go into my Bedroom Drawer youd find maybe two 20 bill. They needed to call in agents from the Fbi Field Office in new york with those cash counting machines, the types that you see in the movies. Thats what they needed to total up and tally up the amount of cash they found. Any clues now on what the defense will be for this . Yeah, i think they are so out there in the open on this, not just in the filings prior to trial, not just in the filings that led to the judge severing the trials of menendezs wife, who recently has been diagnosed with cancer, but the idea here according to the senator and his attorneys is that his wife that received these gifts. And from the businessmen in their Opening Statements that we heard from yesterday, theyre saying, look, these guys are wealthy guys. If they give gifts, of course theyre going to be nicer gifts than somebody who doesnt have the type of money they have. Obviously federal prosecutors say, oh, no, no, this was a Bribery Scheme and they flat out called the senator corrupt. Hes pleaded not guilty, so has his wife, so have these businessmen. Well see as we continue to track this trial, where this all goes and ultimately what the jury decides. Menendezs attorneys asking the jury to ask themselves what did bob know as they try to paint him being in the dark. Thank you so much for filling us in. Up next here on ana cabrera, the 12 men and women who will decide Donald Trumps fate, how soon could we see Jury Deliberations begin, and what would that look like . Ill talk to a former New York State Supreme Court judge. Plus, new aid trickling into gaza from that new u. S. Peer. Why humanitarian experts say it isnt nearly enough. Ugh. Bat . Was that your great aunt, keeping armies alive . Drafting the plans. Taking the pictures. 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He is saying hes ready to work early, late, whatever is needed to get to Closing Arguments and Jury Deliberations, which means next week we could be barrelling toward the unprecedented scenario of a former president and a current candidate awaiting a criminal verdict. And joining us now, retired New York State Supreme Court justice jill con visor. Thanks so much for being here. In your view, whats the pace of this trial . Is it faster than you would expect . Judge merchan seems to think we need to keep things moving much faster. I think all judges want to keep things moving. We want to be as respectful as we can to the jurors because they have other commitments, we want to keep to a schedule, and hes done that. Criminal unpredictable. You do never know the exact timeline, but he has toed the mark and kept everyone on schedule. The jurors have been on time, showing a great deal of respect for the court, which has been very helpful to keep things on schedule. We have been talking about all of the trump allies from, you know, u. S. House of representatives, who have been showing up in court, for example. Does the judge pay any attention to that . No. I mean, he knows, im sure. It is a public courtroom, people walk in and out all the time. If the press is there you know if there is a senator there, ten part of the case. Hes going to do his job regardless, not going to be stared down or intimidated by them as they might think. It is actually, you know, theyre descending on the courthouse like locusts. I dont know what the benefit is, if theyre auditioning for Vice President , good for them, but i dont think it will affect the judge in any way, shape or form. How might it affect jurors thinking and what will you be watching for . Jury instructions are pretty common in every case. There are very few things that will go beyond that with which we always do. You can go online and find the Jury Instructions that will matter in this case. I think what you will look for is the credibility section, which the judge will painstakingly go through what that means, the jurors are the triers of fact and decide issues of credibility. They decide whether to believe a witness or not. They decide what weight to give his or her testimony. And ultimately they decide whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Theyll be told what to consider in terms of credibility. Theyll be told if a witness was untruthful as far as theyre concerned. They can dismiss their entire testimony or accept that much that they believe is truthfully and accurately given. But it is their domain. Is there anything specific to this case that youll be listening for in the Jury Instructions, any particular issues that have caught your attention . I think some of the there is always a Charge Conference before the charge is given, the lawyers say, judge, we want you to give this, we want you to say that, we want a limiting instruction and that will be interesting to see what the parties may want, but otherwise, i think it will be pretty banal, garden variety. Well be watching for the specifics to that. I do want to ask you about something, just get your take on the pressure that these judges are facing, the threats these judges are facing, the vitriol theyre facing, judge merchan in this particular case. Reuters has new reporting on the connection between trumps comments about judges and the threats they get. It found trump posted or reposted on truth social 129 attacks against the judges presiding over his cases between march and the end of april. And in this same period, across three popular protrump websites, they found 152 posts calling for the beating or murder of judges Merchan Engoron and scott mcafee in georgia. What is your reaction to that . I iis unbelievably shameful. These judge tir rulings, there are appellate avenues for appeals to be taken, and judges rulings are reviewed and reviewed and reviewed. They are doing their jobs like anybody else and for anyone to everyone can have an opinion, but to threaten someone and to descend on the courthouse and try to intimidate is such it is antiamerican, and it is really quite frankly disappointing and disgusting. Judge, thank you so much for offering your perspective and helping us understand too this trial process. It is great to have you here. Retired New York State Supreme Court justice conviser. Up next, the temporary pier built to deliver humanitarian aid in war torn gaza as the u. N. Warns about the risk of famine. Warns about the Ri Oskf Famine ella fashion moves fast. Setting trends is our business. We need to scale with customer demand. In real time. jen so we partner with verizon. Their solution for us . 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This pier being the latest Makeshift Effort to deliver that critical aid to the besieged palestinian enclave after israels Military Assault shut down a number of crossings into this area. Nbcs Richard Engel joins us now with more. Richard . Reporter the American Maritime aid corridor has opened. Defense secretary austin has acknowledged that while u. S. Troops will not be going ashore in gaza, they are in harms way and have the right and means to defend themselves. With an american pier now anchored off the coast of the gaza strip, u. S. Central command said this morning that trucks containing humanitarian assistance began moving ashore in gaza, but that no american troops set foot on the ground. The aid is being shuttled from the pier to the coast in trucks, on landing craft. American troops remaining on the pier. The Israeli Military is coordinating the effort and has secured the landing area. Humanitarian groups say there are faster, more efficient ways to send supplies into gaza, by land, with trucks. But convoys are increasingly being blocked and sometimes attacked by Israeli Settlers and extremists. They say as long as hamas holds hostages, gaza should not receive aid. Some of the trucks come from neighboring jordan, and senior jordanian officials tell nbc news that the israeli army has failed to address the problem. In gaza, palestinianamerican Doctor Adam Hamawi says aid of all kinds is urgently needed in rafah, in southern gaza, where hes volunteering. When we talk about civilian population, specifically the children, who are really innocent of anything that is going on, i see little kids running around that are basically skin and bones, the food becomes an issue where everyone is having a minimal meal a day if any. Reporter the u. N. Says more than 630,000 palestinians have been forced to flee from rafah, since israel intensified Military Operations in the city a week ago. Despite warnings from President Biden of the risk of civilian casualties. Israels Defense Minister said more troops are heading into rafah, and that theyre, quote, wearing hamas down. The u. S. Military expects to deliver about 90 trucks of aid per day from the pier, with the number growing to 150 as operations move forward. Richard engel, thank you for that. Thats going to do it for us this busy week. Have a wonderful weekend, thank you for joining us. Ill see you back here monday. You can catch our show online, around the clock, on youtube, and other platforms. Im ana cabrera, reporting from new york. Jose diazbalart picks up our coverage right now