it s time. listen, i unburden myself last night and almost took another pass at it today because it s so absolutely bonkers. the whole thing. it just keeps getting more insane, but there are, i hope, to make serious points within that story about the dangerous spread of this kind of insanity and what it can reach two and what insanity does reach two on the republican side or politics. most republicans have none of these crazy thoughts, but the ones who do can end up being extremely dangerous. yes, insanity coupled with desperation is never a good thing. we will get to it later in this hour. i ll be watching. donald trump finds himself tonight in agreement with william shakespeare. donald trump doesn t know that, of course, because donald trump is the most ignorant least educated man in the history of the american presidency, including all of those presidents who didn t go to college and were self educated. every american president except donald trump knew or knows
good evening and thanks for joining us. we begin with a massive bill when new york federal jury former president found liable, emotional harm he caused by repeated verbal attacks on e. jean carroll while he was president, some of his followers turned to serious threats against her. $11 million for damage she suffered to reputation and $65 million in punitive damages. $83.3 million total. no comment from her or her team as they left the courthouse in lower manhattan making their way through a sea of cameras and reporters. in a moment we will hear from her attorney, roberta kaplan since the verdict. and another tropic user, jessica leads, witness in the first lawsuit in which she told jurors the former president broker on an airplane on cross- country flight. he denies those claims. he responded to the verdict on social media saying he will appeal the case, adding, quote, our legal system is out of control and used as a political weapon. they have taken away offers imminent rig
a very full night, there is a lot more ahead of the landmark verdict. tonight, straight the source, the scattering cost staggering cost. $83 million for years of defaming the writer even after a jury found he sexually abused her. is this enough to make him? trump is raging tonight, not even sticking around to hear the verdict. tonight, we have two insiders. someone who was in the courtroom along with the person who told her to sue him. i am kaitlin collins and this is the source. an astounding $83.3 million. that is on top of the $5 million he was already ordered by a jury to pay after he was found liable for sexual abuse in the 1990s today s number is four defaming her in 2019. here she is with her legal team today after the decision made by nine jurors. they deliberated for less than three hours. as you might imagine, trump is livid, not even staying to hear the verdict read. the first time he stormed out as e. jean carroll s attorney was making a closing statement. ear
quote. for nearly a decade, we have watched donald trump destroy our political institutions and make a mockery of the constitution. he has breached every tradition and norm, even the peaceful transfer of power that s kept this country stable from one generation to another. from one administration to the next. you ve done it all, with almost a complete impunity, because the republican party has protected him from experiencing and the real consequences for his actions. it s still a question in the back of some people s minds about whether a trump might barrel through the justice system, the same way candidate trump has barreled through and destroyed our politics. trump continued to attack and spread lies about carroll after the first trial, and continue to do so throughout his second which begs the question. can any sort of penalty or punishment actually stop him? as roberta pl said in the jury during closing arguments, quote, this trial is also about something much more profou
unimaginable suffering. it will be clear which steps were and were not taken to stop it. that is our show for tonight. you can catch me back here on weekends at seven pm eastern. alex we ll be back here tomorrow with more of interview with california governor gavin newsom. now it is time to hand it over to lawrence o donnell. and the last word. good evening, lawrence. good evening, ayman. thank you very much. by the time donald trump tells the witness stand today in the case of e. jean carroll versus donald trump, the questions his lawyer would be allowed to ask and we re already working out in detail and discussions with the judge and lawyers on both sides of the case while the jury was out of the courtroom. judge lewis kaplan instructed donald trump s defense lawyers once again that donald trump would not be allowed in his testimony to contest the fact that he ripest e. jean carroll in a department store in manhattan. judge kaplan told the lawyers the jury in the previo