investigation. it has been small worldville like you can t believe. but one thing gregg craig is is a very esteemed lawyer and experienced. for everything else that s nuts about this trial, it makes it astonishing that his lawyers had to formally apologize to the judge on his behalf today because after the prosecutors rolled out their first witness, but before the defense had their chance to cross examine the first witness, gregg craig apparently took it upon himself to walk up to the witness in the courthouse and say, quote, i know i m not supposed to do this, but i just wanted to say hello. i mean, even if you re not like one of the most famous lawyers in america, you probably know the general rule which is don t touch the witnesses who are being called to testify against you in your ongoing trial. don t go talk to the witness and touch him or her in between his or her testimony and that person
after the prosecution and the defense each made their opening statements then the prosecution gets to go first to lay out their case. right? the prosecution calls their first witness. the witness testifies about his law firm and its involvement in this case that led to this remarkable criminal trial. the criminal trial of gregg craig, the only person from a democratic administration caught up in a trial derived from the mueller investigation. craig is on trial for allegedly lying to federal investigators about his involvement in one of paul manafort s schemes in the ukraine. and this trial is strange far lot of reasons. not least because he s president obama s former white house counsel. because he s a democratic administration official who for some reason was caught up with paul manafort. it s been particularly weird to see him in court in d.c. where half the jury pool seems to know him. people who worked with him at the white house. a cia analyst who specialized in ukraine. one woman
and violence. contrary, it s not offered to suggest the character to establish the criminal disposition. the government does not intend to suggest that roger stone is an organized crime figure. stone referenced this film scene in communications that allegedly constitute witness tampering. the scene is, therefore, part of the very act at issue. we re waiting on a ruling on that one from the judge. and yes, i should tell you this is the exact same judge who had to tell gregg craig today he needed to stop talking to the witnesses against him and stop shaking their hands. same judge j courtroom, day. joyce is with with me tonight. i often bring you in here. i m gobsmacked this is somebody s job. this is almost as good as
being cross examined. the judge said today mr. craig, i would like to caution you. i don t think it s appropriate as you apparently didn t either to go up to a witness and greet him in the middle of the trial. mr. craig, this witness was in the middle of his testimony. he is still on the witness stand. he is not to be interacted with nor are the other witnesses in the case to be interacted with. which you would think gregg craig would know, but that happened today. truly weird. and not the weirdest thing that happened in that particular judge s courtroom today in conjunction with a trump administration scandal. that s next.
you, because we are awaiting john edwards appearance before a federal magistrate former the former presidential contender s indictment this morning. welcome, i m alisyn camarota in for megyn khely, edwards indictments capped two years of investigation into whether he illegally dolled out doled out campaign cash to keep his mistress in hiding during his run for the nomination and kept it from his wife elizabeth battling cancer at the time, the cancer that later claimed her life. john roberts is live outside the federal courthouse in winston-salem, north carolina. what s happened so far, john? reporter: good afternoon, alin. about half an hour from now john edwards will be inside the courtroom in the federal building to enter a plea according to his attorney, gregg craig, of not guilty. gregg craig came out a little while ago and talked that edwards had broken no law, he is not guilty, he is going to plead innocent to