arguments set to begin very shortly in the criminal case against donald trump thank you all for being with us. cnn special live coverage. those arguments begins right now here in new york city to historic criminal trial donald j. trump entering the final critical phase. this our closing arguments about to begin the former president on his way to the courthouse it was trial has been building for weeks toward this dramatic moment in the prosecution of events. lay it all on the line. i m anderson cooper here in new york, and i ve jake tapper in washington. you re watching special seen in live coverage of donald trump s hush money cover-up. proud to closing arguments that plan in the hours ahead will be the last word from lawyers on both sides before jurors decide if mr. trump becomes the first ever former president convicted of a crime prosecutor, joshua steinglass will today tried to weave together weeks of testimony and evidence, two make the case that mr. trump was involv
it is 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i m jose diaz-balart. we begin this hour with deadly storms now making their way northeast after leaving behind a trail of destruction across texas, oklahoma, arkansas and kentucky. at least 19 people are dead and dozens more injured. take a look at this. valley view, texas, gas station. officials say as many as 125 people were sheltering when a powerful tornado struck. overnight kentucky governor andy beshear declared a state of emergency as the severe weather threat continues into today for millions of americans. it leaves hundreds of,sands across the region without power. joining us from valley view, texas, is nbc s priscilla thompson. priscilla, good morning. where do things stand now? reporter: jose, good morning. right now in the hardest-hit areas there s devastation everywhere. we re here and you can see there s a car with its windows completely blown out. that car was actually in that gas station parking lot when this tor
at least hunter s did. when he was found guilty on all three charges that he faced in his federal gun trial. now, of course, the angle has long maintained that while not insignificant, this open and shut case is probably the least serious of all the biden schemes exposed by congressional investigators and a few indust industrious reporters. now, given that we know that he was often a drug-addled mess, who frequented with prostitutes. what exact expertise did he have when foreign entitsz including china decided to pay him tens of millions of dollars? and why have the bidens repeatedly lied about joey s involvement? the bidens have become one of the richest families in the history of american politics and to this moment no one has ever been able to explain what hunter or jim or any of the other bidens did to get paid other than showcasing their connection to the big guy. he got $40,000 from jim biden that was directly traced to the china influence peddling scheme which was 10
amendment. you might face to civil suit for defamation, but it s not criminal. those are the over acts. the predicate crimes are actual court crimes. here s my question. i think i know the answer but does everyone in the 19 people have to have committed a predicate crime to be included in the conspiracy? or can be the casey only took part in over acts as part of the enterprise and are still trying convicted under the record statute? it depends on how it s played. the unique thing about this particular indictment is that everyone in this indictment is charged with also committing a predicate act. so you really don t have to answer that question. but if you indict the rico as a weaker conspiracy, if there s a conspiracy, it may not have ever actually come completed the crime. we just took substantial stepped forward or over acts in furtherance of committing that conspiracy without actually completing it. it s very broad.
the idea is that over acts can be things that independent of the conspiracy were independent of the enterprise or perfectly legal are fine. i tweeted something or even went on tv and said this person stolen election. you can do that. it s covered by the first amendment. you might face to civil suit for defamation, but it s not criminal. those are the over acts. the predicate crimes are actual court crimes. here s my question. i think i know the answer but does everyone in the 19 people have to have committed a predicate crime to be included in the conspiracy? or can be the casey only took part in over acts as part of the enterprise and are still trying convicted under the record statute? it depends on how it s played. the unique thing about this particular indictment is that everyone in this indictment is charged with also committing a