Back to August 2015 where prosecutors will ultimately ask him about a Trump Tower Meeting between him with Michael Cohen and Donald Trump. Where the allegation is that the Catchandkill Scheme was first concocted. It was a year later when karen mcdougals story, the former Playboy Model who alleged a tenmonth affair with Donald Trump, and stanlsz who had an alleged onenight affair with Donald Trump, ultimately those stories were bought either by ami or through Michael Cohen before the 2016 election. The opening statements really laid the foundation for both sides about where they intend to take this trial. For the d. A. s side, they made it clear they are going to call up Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen and paint a construct of a conspiracy, a longhatched conspiracy to protect Donald Trump politically from damaging stories, and one that included an acknowledgment by Donald Trump that he would eventually
Election. What would the level of confidence have to be . Knowing d. A. Bragg, theres no way he would have brought this case unless the facts were strong and he were following those facts wherever they led which in this case is to a strong prosecution of donald trump. So i know theres a long history here and a long history in the d. A. s office when it comes fros kugs, Investigation And Prosecution of trump. Alvin is among the most levelheaded people ive ever worked with. He brings that levelheadedness to everything he does, including every case he prosecuted, whether it was in the southern dr. , in the a. G. s office and now in the d. A. s office. Hes not someone that would ever bring a case unless the facts were there. Hes certainly not someone motivated by politics. Hes motivated by a rule of law, by a commitment to the facts. Would he typically be in court on the first day like he was today . Its important that hes in court because this is certainly
Hoffinger. Shes one of the most interesting people. You dont see people go from defense back to prosecution. She started as an ada in the manhattan office. Then for 20 years, she did white collar defense, the type of defense that Donald Trump could use right now, and now shes back at the d. A. s office as a chief investigator, and shes on this case. Why does this matter . She knows both sides and understands the tricks both sides can play and as an investigator, she has been able to unearth a lot of dirt. Someone invalue to the prosecutors team. This is the super bowl of cases, no doubt about it. Charles coleman, thank you for helping us understand the players. Thanks to chris and charles. A critical decision coming from judge juan merchan, everybody before opening Statements Today is if Donald Trump testifies, prosecutors can then ask him about different findings in four previous court cases, including the e. Jean
Both sides. Very strong. The prosecution team, i know three of the members very well, susan hoffinger, josh stein glass. Susan spent her career in the d. A. s office, left for 20 years and was a defense attorney. She has more extensive criminal Defense Experience and Crossexamination Experience probably than anyone other than susan necheles. Donald trumps lawyers are very good. One caveat about the prior prosecutions of donald trump. They were civil, preponderance of the evidence. Criminal is prof beyond a reasonable doubt. Thats a very heavy burden for prosecutors. Its a very different burden than a civil case. But the im fact would be that some of them are very character revealing if you
I have final say on the celebrity side. Are they not supposed to but they just might consider that when theyre assessing his credibility or what he has to say . They will, but theyll also assess that he was a friend of Donald Trump. And did what Donald Trump wanted. The defense wants them to think the other way. This is just something who is a sleaze. The National Enquirer pays for it. Thats what he does. So its going to be interesting. Its going to be the battle between the defense and the prosecution over credibility. How credible is the prosecution witness. And i dont think, andrea, that we have ever seen an interview with David Pecker like most of the other people who have come out and given interviews. Not David Pecker. They tied him up very early as a prosecution witness. Probably one of the first people they went through when deciding whether or not to pursue the case. A case that explained the previous d. A. Had decided not to