out of the box. clearly someone that they believed prosecutors believed was the perfect person to present their case. we initially present their case with because he was so credible, he doesn't have an ax to grind. yes. this was a long time ago, but he seemed to have a pretty decent memory. and again, no bill numeral dog in this fight? all right. and the jury apparently found him quite credible and you know what i'm thinking about right now is obviously there's a lot of unknowns, but also all of the major republican figures that we've spoken to who have said whether or not they would still vote for donald trump, even if he's a convicted felon people like chris sununu, bill barr, and others remember if the first republican primary debate that we're all asked if they would still vote for the party's nominee, even if he was a convicted felon, he or she esa hutchinson and chris christie were the only two who did not raise their hands and said they would this is going to be the next major question for all of those figures. now that some of them had already prefaced that they would still vote for it because they they questioned that algorithm, this verdict, whatever it was and

now that's you're going to see the impact that has over the next five months historic verdict is in donald j. trump, the 45th president of the united states. has been found guilty by a jury of his peers on all 34 new york state felony counts of falsifying business records, tides of the alleged stormy daniels hush money cover-up, i guess we can remove the word alleged from that. the is now a convicted felon, even as he is running to return turn to the white house. mr. trump left the courthouse a short while ago. he will be sentenced on july 11, literally just days before the republican national convention convenience of course, donald trump and his lawyers will appeal this conviction but as of now and they cannot appeal until after sentencing july 11, and as of now, 12 jurors for a manhattan

12 12 of the president's peers have made a monumental decision finding the former president of the united states, donald trump, guilty on all counts. we are standing by for a news conference that will be held by manhattan district attorney, alvin bragg, who is the one who brought this case against donald trump. we will hear his reaction to the verdict, but let us chew on this momentous day with our panel here and lara coates the jury, was given a lot of reason by the defense to not come to these conclusions michael cohen's credibility for one they rejected all of them. >> they did. they said there were two reasons never to actually come to any of these conclusions that it was because of michael we're cohen, they did not offer an alternative theory of what happened. they said that the government had not met their burden of proof, which they rigueur acquired to

do remember, the defense went first, trump was very furious, but not being able to respond to that, but gone now are the t leave reading of what they felt about credibility considerations, whether they believed michael cohen's testimony, whether they believed even those witnesses who were very kind two or sympathetic with donald trump bats all done. this is a moment of such significance because the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt now that there were 34 counts of falsified records, not with direct act evidence or statements from donald trump does suggest that yes. i ordered the code red, but instead saying that i was directing somebody are made possible the falsified records. this was a question for many people. could it be elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony? the only way to do that was from this predicate crime. and remember as we were talking about aly the idea that at most of the time people wondered, should they have a lesser included offense here? should the defense of tried to include that in some form or fashion, they opted not to. now, you've got 34 felonies and eleni

honig. well, before i come to you, we don't have cameras in the courtroom because new york thinks that it is still the year 17, 30 32, but here is artwork from christine cornell, one of the courtroom sketch artists before the verdict was read. you see the defendant, the 45th president of united states, donald j. trump standing there looking at the jurors, at before the verdict was read, an elie honig. we have we have talked before on this panel many times about how the fact is that a lot of witnesses are people with credibility issues when it comes to crimes because a lot of criminal sammy, the bulger, ivana, was brought up many times on this panel a lot of a lot of witnesses our a lot of criminals, are individuals who associate with other criminals, which is not to say, well, donald trump is now a convicted felon but the idea being that jurors do distinguish between

people who do not have credibility. >> generally speaking, and what they say in a courtroom, they they factor that end. that's exactly right, jake, this verdict comes down to one word, corroboration. it's a word that we prosecutors, former prosecutors are obsessed with because you want to be able to make the exact pitch that the da made to the jury when he was closing the other day, he said to them, essentially, you don't have to take michael cohen at his word in a vacuum, look at everything that backs them up, look at the handwritten notes, look at the checks, mentally. it's not only you don't have to, but they said you shouldn't do, right? exactly. they said, let michael cohen simply walk you through the evidence. and if we even think to the note, the one substance the note we got, which came yesterday what the jury asked for is the testimony of david pecker and michael cohen about one crucial meeting. and that testimony that they both gave was not identical. it's never going to be identical, but it was consistent and it was mutually reinforcing i think i think it's reasonable to conclude that the jury went into that

room. they said can we trust michael cohen based on all the other evidence that's what the de asked him to do and they gave a resounding yes. >> casey, the politics of this are inescapable. you've been talking to people about republicans, about yeah, about this tell us what they told you that i talked to a pair of republicans who quite candidly would prefer to see donald trump loses the election in november. but i think it's really telling that they are not jumping on this verdict immediately, that the way they are looking at it, as is as something that is going to force are already incredibly divided country into their respective corners that is going to have the effect of amping up the division, the anger. and i think some of the things that we're seeing in terms of republican fundraising reports of websites being down kind of underscore that point that it is galvanizing many supporters of donald trump to support him all the more. yeah. >> i think that we need to look at the calendar one more time. you were saying july 11, i'm sitting here looking at it.

that is a thursday july 15, which is a monday is the first day of the republican convention. and i know that a reporting is that todd blanche and trump's other attorneys will be asking for sentencing to be moved until after the republican convention. we don't know if he's going to grant that but the whole not just this case, but other cases. and his presidential campaign are so intertwined and the collision between that sentencing date and that convention are just it's almost too much to even fathom on top of that we've been hearing the former president more recently saying that he's not going to pick his running mate until either right before or maybe even during the convention. i've already been communicated getting with republicans saying it's hard to imagine that he doesn't take this moment and the content and the context of what was happening in this trial was

stormy daniels and karen mcdougal. take that into account when he picks his running mate. >> so right now, donald trump forced to contend with new york traffic. >> that's his motorcade there. >> he just posted on his social media site to its social in all caps victory on november 5th. save america jake. >> yeah, i just jump in because we're already seeing this political fight start to play out at chris lacivita, who of course that at the top of the trump campaign just re tweeted a3x. i'm not sure what we call it now, governor larry hogan, who is the republican nominee for the senate race in maryland. larry hogan said, regardless of the result, i urge all americans to respect the verdict and the legal process at this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders, regardless of party, must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship lacivita says, on top of this, you just ended your campaign you just ended your campaign.

>> larry hogan, the republican nominee for senate in the blue states and yes, because four full respect of our institutions collectively in this moment, well, there is an appeals process, but before we get to that karen the sentencing process tell us more about that yes. >> so what will happen is that donald trump will have to report to probation and probation will prepare what's called a pre-sentencing report where they take certain information and this is something they do in every case before sentencing. >> certain information about him, including whether or not he expresses remorse because that is something that is normally taken into consideration. iteration for sentencing when judge merchan actually sentences any defendant, he takes many factors into consideration. if you remove the name donald trump from his consideration, and it was somebody who came before him pre-sentence that also had three open other felony indictments in three

other jurisdictions in both state and federal court. he is somebody who has been convicted of 34 felony counts, was held in contempt ten times for disobeying judge merchan's orders. he would absolutely fall within that ten to 30% who would be sentenced to prison. but because his name is donald trump, who knows what will happen. but those are the exact factors that any judge in new york state would take into consideration. and those are the people who are convicted of e felony felonies that would go to prison. now, he could he could there's a wide range of options he could get up to four years. he could also do weekends in jail there's there's as an option if judge me, shawn wanted to do that where you literally report to jail for weekends, he could do probation. he could do community service where he has to pick up trash on the subways. so could he do home arrest? he could do home arrest every option is on the table with a class e felony like this, but i wanted to just put a perspective active for people

of what any other defendant because i worked in the da's office for about 30 years. i've seen hundreds of thousands of cases and sentences, and those are the factors that would have gone into that equation. and absolutely without a doubt, any other defendant who was similarly clearly situated to donald trump, who is not going to show remorse and who i am sure will push the bounds of the still remaining gag order after this, we'll see what happens. but anyone else in that position would get would get prison jamie jamie can go before the trial began. >> right. i spoke with michael cohen the defense witness. the number one witness for the prosecution witness, and number one witness for the prosecution about whom much has been said about his credibility and that's certainly at times during the trial appeared to be potentially undermining. obviously, it was not what did he say? day before the trial and how did it work out?

>> so we don't know what the jury took into account yet, and we may never know because they may not speak to us. but what michael cohen said this was about 24 hours before is he said, there are gonna be all of these other witnesses. and in fact, there were for 19 other witnesses. and he saw his job as being the narrator. and that his job was to connect the dots. but that we would forgive me. this is not working that we would see all of the documents, the evidence, those allen weisselberg hand scribbled notes. >> but he said to me over and over again, you're not going to have to rely on me. you're going to be able to rely on this other evidence if you're just joining us, the former president of the united states, donald j. trump has been found guilty by a jury of his peers,

of 34 counts of falsifying business records, felony charges mega him, run the pulitzer prize-winning reporter from the new york times, who has been in the courtroom. i believe every day of this trial is joining us right now. baggie first of all tell us about that moment. the moment of 34 felony convictions sure. >> jake. >> very dramatic. i have been in courtrooms when there have been, uh, there's been a verdict in intense cases and the judge always caution people to not have reactions as judge merchan just as much john did in this case as well. usually there is a reaction. there was silence from trump's supporters. trump himself was sitting his head had been tilted to the side. we had a bit of an unobstructed view because of the court officers in the room. but the jury foreman stood up and with asked, where are the jury was on each count and it was capability all right.

>> may we're having some problems with maggie's a phone connection work today thank you. we lost you there for a second. so say that again. >> sorry, jake and it's. still quite crazy right now. and just in terms, a lot of activity there, eric trump, trump's one okay. >> we're going to wait for maggie to his head maggie would just give us a couple of minutes. see if you can find a better cell phone spot. we really want to hear from you, but you keep about fading in and out for a significant amounts of time just to give you at home while maggie walks to a better cell phone spot, some background information. the trump team has to file any motions by june soon 13th, and the people must respond by june 27th. this has to do with the sentencing. part of the case and then of course, july 11, as we've said, is sentencing dana

yeah. >> i mean, the i actually have a question and maybe you'll know the answer to this. what are the chances that this judge will say? okay, you're right july 11 is four days before the republican convention. i'll wait until afterwards. >> i was actually surprised that that wasn't an application made. usually there's a negotiation in court about what de do you want for sentencing? i was surprised that they maybe they just didn't report about it, but normally there is a conversation between the lawyers to pick that. so i wouldn't be surprised if the judge if there was some movement on that date. it's kind of a quick date to normally if somebody is not incarcerated, it can go as far as a few months out. so we'll see we'll see what he does, but there's a lot of flexibility there. >> so the jury reached a verdict at 4:20 p.m. donald trump, the now convicted felon when the 45th president of the united states at 6:14 p.m. is

arriving at his home at trump tower has to be one of the worst days of his life, if not the worst. >> anderson jake thanks very much for joining us now is danya perry michael cohen's attorney or first interviews to general trump's conviction? >> i've done your first i understand you've just spoken to michael cohen. he put out a statement what it is what did he say to you about his reaction to this i was actually shocked if you saw his statement he was of all the things he could have said or done, he actually expressed his gratitude to me of all people and i think that really is the michael cohen that i've seen, he he has mixed feelings. >> they're complex emotions. he feels vindicated. of course, is gratified that the jury absolutely believed him and returned to swift verdict. he's gratified that the judge

denied the motion that would have precluded his testimony as ridiculous motion as it was it. >> it's still it also was swiftly denied. and so he is feeling those things and as he testified in court, he definitely wanted to see accountability for his former boss and mentor and someone meant so much to him for so long. but for those same reasons he certainly his emotions are a tinge with sadness as well sorrow for what has happened in the past ten years the past several in particular i think he feels that this is a sad day certainly for mr. trump, and he actually express that to me, but also for the country. and so i think what he's going to be focused on right now is this is not a personal beef as many people have. i've talked about. and as todd blanche spent a lot of time on closing

statements on cross-examination as michael said in his statement, and as it just posted for him, he wants to focus on the next chapter, both for himself and also for the country. he sees this as a moment. it's a day of reckoning and it's a, it's a, it's a triumph rule of law, not for the rule of law and for democracy daniel i, just want to show viewers what we just a replay of what we just saw. don't trump arriving outside, a trump tower to go to his home he approached a barricade position where new cameras were gesticulate it to some of his supporters. there seemed to thank them for clenching his fist in a raised solutes is pointing to some people in the crowd and then moving back to go home to trump tower clearly done so much time was spent

ripping apart michael cohen's credibility on the stand by by todd blanche. this was something he he did the cross-examination clearly viewed this as a critical as critical testimony to what degree does michael cohen feel vindicated because we have not heard from juries yet, but clearly in order to have reached this verdict they must have believed michael cohen on some level. yes. there was a lot of other evidence that backed up things that michael cohen had said does he does he feel some sense of vindication 100%. >> there's no other way to read that verdict and it was it was unanimous. of course, it was quickly rendered and it was guilty on all counts. so there was similarly no hesitation at all about his testimony. and i think that's exactly as it should be i've known michael for four years, but he's been

talking about this nominee time and six years. and it has always been the same for it has been consistent. there's always made sense. and it was corroborated. who said so the jury clearly had absolutely no trouble leaving him, nor should they have so there was a lot a lot of name-calling and finger-pointing. but at the end of the day, the jury saw a straight, clear, and click path, and of course, michael is feeling gratified by that and vindicated does your client have any thoughts on sentencing? >> obviously, he has expressed thoughts previously on what he thinks sentencing it should be. he has said he thought that don't trump should be. i think in an fn cage at one point, he certainly had said on the stand that he would like to see in fiction and would like to see him kind of experienced the

same thing like call cohen experience of being put behind bars. did he express anything about what he would like to see a sentencing based on all these convictions? >> no. what he has said as he wanted to see accountability and that has already happened. so whatever happens in july or whenever the sentencing is, if it's adjourned that is not something that he is concerned with. yes, he certainly made statements in dramatic fashion. as he often does for entertainment, value. on his podcast or interviews but that is not at all. his focus right now. not anything he's thinking about. >> he is as i said before, his gratified with a judges decisions the judge has cooled down the middle, and the judge will rule at sentencing. and that's just province. this was today's verdict was a juries province. the sentencing will be solely the judges and i don't believe that michael will have anything to say about

daniel perry. >> i appreciate talking to you. thank you so much. danny perry, attorney for michael cohen back here with kaitlan collins and paula reid. obviously, again, i mean, michael cohen is critical to this case. they didn't want to lead with and we have the verdict sheet, as well. let's put that up to talk about it as well where as we wait for them, to put it up, michael cohen's testimony obviously was critical in all of this not so critical that they wanted it to be first though, here's the verdict sheet. you see each of the counts falsifying business it's records falsifying business records. each one checked off yeah. >> this is history was even some surprise that they let them go last. >> they thought that maybe they want a sandwich him, right? because he was complicated, but they had confidence in him. they met with him dozens and dozens of times over the course of a year to prepare him on the stand and he held up pretty well. he didn't he didn't lose

it. he didn't get to testy. obviously, he did defense argues lie on the stand. he admitted stealing from the trump organization, but as a witness, he did come across as calm, cool, and collected and given who we're talking about that was a success not only for him, but for the prosecution there had been some question would jurors decide guilty on some charges, not on others. >> would they sort of tried to let's get rid of split decision in some cases, they went every single charge, found guilty. >> yeah, that is falling over the trump team expected, i think a lot of legal experts also thought maybe they would convict on the charges related to falsifying documents, specifically the checks that trump's sign, but the others perhaps it there was not enough of a direct link so this was a surprise, but i think what we've said consistently throughout our coverage as we have no idea how this was going to go, it just wasn't clear anything was possible. >> just to look at that verdict sheet, though, and to see guilty guilty. guilty. because it was a question, could he be convicted on only the checks

alone and maybe not the ledgers, invoices the other ports that we were seeing and to see that x marked in every single box on that verdict sheet. all of these all of these jurors coming to the same decision here as you can see there on the left in the left-hand column and looking at the transcript shows you how quickly all of this happened the judge has the two parties to come into the courtroom at 4:15 p.m. today, eastern that's when he said, i'm going to excuse the jury about 4:30, they were still deliberating. we had not received any notes then you talk about 15 minutes for the judge to come back in the room. >> he came in. they didn't even make everyone rise. everyone stayed seated. and the judge, i'm looking at the transcript. he said that i apologize for the delay, but we received a note and it was signed by the jury foreperson it for 20. so while judge merchan is in the courtroom with the prosecution and the defense, thinking he's about to dismiss this jury and then he goes to find out that actually they've sent a note it says we the jury have a verdict. we would like an extra 30 minutes to fill out that form. and you see her the

transcript, it looks like that verdict sheet. it just says where the clerk is asking, how do you say to count six, how do you say to count seven? and it just guilty. guilty. guilty. in this transcript, i want to bring in clark brewster, the attorney for stormy daniels clark. >> you i understand you have talked to stormy daniels when we want her reaction is what what is your reaction yeah. anderson, i did speak with stormy. i mean, she was actually pretty emotional really a. lot of mixed emotions. obviously, it's a sad time for anyone to have a conviction like this. i mean, it's momentous to the country so really kind of hit or hard. but on the other hand, she knows how hard the jurors worked and their oath that they took. and we have to respect that. no man is above the law and we have to respect the system but she has empathy. and but she also did or duty and

came to court and told the truth and was exposed to cross-examination and the jurors did their work do you know i'm does she had done she express anything about what she would like to see for sentencing no. >> we've not really discussed that it'll be interesting. i think the judge probably knows this case better than anyone at this time and we're opposed trust in his judgment as to what would be a fair sentence in this matter we there's so many emotions that run through this the emotions of the fear that she expresses. i told him which about in a previous meetings about somebody doing harm to her and then i'll all of the anxiety about getting on the stand and facing two days of examination but this is the culmination and this is how our system works. you get a trial and people take oath to apply goodwill and proper analysis

the law to the facts and they returned a verdict. it you can feel in that courtroom this is a very diligent informed jury, and you have to respect that and complement them on their work clark booster. >> i appreciate your time. thank you very much. want to go back to what blitzer in washington wolf anderson. thank you very much. we're watching history unfold right now. first time in american history, something like this has happened. a former president united states, convicted on 34 counts felony counts, very serious counts indeed, i want to bring in the author and legendary journalist, bob woodward right now, bob, thanks very much for joining us. give us your reaction as someone who together with carl bernstein, did all the lead reporting on the watergate scandal many years ago. what, what what is your reaction to this historic moment? >> well first of all, maybe the country's not, is divided as

we think it is that this jury was able to quite quickly reach a consensus and the consensus is that donald trump is a felon and that changes politics, that changes the whole understanding of trump in the presidential election. that's going on. so this is one of these moments that changes history and defines history. now, we're going to have to hear from what the jurors said and how they did this so quickly, but i was quite surprised. i expected there would be some very vocal trump's supporters on that jury and would kind of have another point of view here. but there has been one point of view, and that is that donald

trump is felon that's something i think it will go through another appeal process will hear from the jurors. but this is a kind of broad truth that doesn't happen. that often in politics. certainly doesn't. bob, you interviewed trump on several occasions while he was president of the united states. do you think he fully she understands the gravity of this situation well, i think he does. >> i think he will watch the coverage and his lawyers will tell him that this is bad news. but but trump does. and i spent a year talking to him nine hours. he could call me at anytime. i could call him at anytime. this was 2020, the last year of his presidency. >> and a does he we realize

this? >> he's created a political cult. but i think the cult members have to kind of take a moment to pause and say how did these people reach this conclusion? >> that guy fell one. give us your sense the sentencing is going to happen in july just before the republican convention. he is the presumptive republican nominee. he can run for president. it can even serve for president even as a convicted felon, give us a sense of what this means for the country right now well, only a america would we have this occurring before our eyes, but it's, it is occurring again, i go back to its significance donald trump with somebody who's been accused, he is now a convicted felon. now, it's a jury in new york. we're going to hear what the

jurors say and how they reached this unanimous conclusion. it's so we live our own lives. there aren't many unanimous conclusions on anything. i've quite frankly thought there would be a debate that this might take days. it did not take days. i think that's very significant, but we're going to have to hear how they reached this conclusion quickly before i let you go beyond the legal world i'm just curious. just curious how you compare this current crisis in the united states right now with what happened when you were reporting for the washington post during watergate that led to the forced resignation of a sitting president because it under the united states well, that took a couple of years from the initial reporting that carl bernstein and i did. >> but, but, but this is, this

is quick. this is a legal and political declaration. i think it goes down in the history books. now there will be discussions, there will be appeals. i mean, trump has been out saying this is a disgrace. of course, the whole trump approach to his own situation and the country is well, the rules don't apply hi to me. i'm going to when i spent a year interviewing him and doing three books on him, there is that sense of i make my own rules and boy, i'm going to play by those rules and those are the rules that count and this jury said, no we're going to make the decision here and they've done that powerful moment very powerful, very historic indeed for those of us who appreciate american history first-time ever, something like

this has happened in us history bob woodward, as usual, thank you. very, very much. adeno. let me get your reaction right now when everyone is saying no one is above the law, including a former president, united states, that has become abundantly clear it has. >> and just to pick up where we're bob left off there about, obviously, this is going down in the history books that's that's kind of a no brainer. but the other point that he was making about trump telling him over and over again, but he felt that he could play by his own rules or at least suggesting he could play by his own rules and skirt the law. that's what i keep thinking about in this moment. not just even the political round, but for decades before he got into politics in new york, real estate. and the fact that the irony is, in many cases, he used michael cohen to try to push the envelope on legal issues and to be very

litigious and a lot of a lot of ways. so he spent an entire adult lifetime trying to avoid this kind of scenario or even being indicted, even being in a courtroom and never mind 34 convictions, felony convictions that's what i'm trying to absorb. how he is feeling at this moment given what he has done his entire life jamie ganglion, we're showing her viewers the sketch. you can see it right in the middle of the screen right now. and just to be precise, that sketch was taken as he was hearing 34 times in a row, guilty. guilty, guilty, guilty 34 times however, donald trump spins this however, mai qi yells about a rigged trial and the judge and it's cetera and whatever the political outcome is in november, this is not a

good day for donald trump and he is familiar with the court system. he has had cases over the course of his career. and what does he do? >> fight, fight, fight, fight, maybe eventually in a civil case, he's lost or he settled. but i think it is important to remember that just to go back to those closing arguments, we made a big deal about they were so long and it was a marathon closing argument. >> i think prosecutor steinglass did in the end probably an extraordinary job in communicating and connecting the dots for these jurors. we don't know what they're yours will ever discuss with us what it was. >> but i think the fact that this came back so quickly speaks to the prosecution and also those other witnesses. >> and the physical evidence. >> and you know what we've been talking throughout the course

of this trial about what would be the impact of, say, allen weisselberg not being a witness that was called. >> he was the third person that sort of elephant in the room with them when they could not connect and the other person who could have corroborated someone like michael cohen, he obviously isn't rikers island. obviously, that was not impactful for this particular jury. his absence. we heard about well, why would they have mentioned karen mcdougal? would that be a red herring for this jury was the defense counsel or the prosecution on a different tangent, we talk about how that was a moment they asked for to be right again course i wonder right now there was a decision made by the former president in states not to testify in his own defense. he said from the beginning he thought that this was a rigged system. the words you use, it's a disgrace system rigged a conflicted judge. it was corrupt. he talked about a venue change. he named the percentage of he actually lost in new york to president biden as well. and then he himself chose not to testify. the big show men did not say in his own defense anyway, when you look at all of

this combined, it's amazing to think about this historic moment that the man we've usually called teflon dawn is now felon donald j. trump, 34 times casing. >> i also think when you step back for a minute and you really look at this, we have spent so many hours talking about the most complicated aspects of this case. >> we've also talked about what is the most simple explanation and i do think that there is a simplicity two donald trump paying $130,000 to someone and why would he do that if it hadn't actually occurred and why would he do that? >> if not? because the election was mere weeks, days away from the time that that payment was made. i think that the challenges that we have seen, things like this, not entirely matter. it's, it's, it's a little bit twofold. donald trump has not won an election since all of this came to light. he lost in 2020. but now we're in a situation we have a democratic incumbent. the election is increasingly simply

referendum on joe biden and the decision today is likely to activate the people who most to support trump, probably more than it's likely to activate people who support biden, there will let me just bring in the former trump attorney temporarily. >> story is with us. give us your reaction to this historic moment. >> so i'm going to focus on the legal, the political aspects, and i say that this case strikes me from the beginning, is an incredibly defensible case that was not well-defended. yeah. the amount of time that the defense spent talking about karen mcdougal and catch and kill, and all of these other things that had nothing to do with the actual charge of the falsified business records. and i think that they really fell into the trap of of fighting all these things. they didn't need to wear. it's easier to just kinda concede all that stuff and focus in on this right here. it surprised me a little bit how fast they came to a verdict. it also surprises me the unanimity of counts,

obviously, the union unanimity of the vote, but guilty of every single count is something that i was not expect that figured if they came back with a guilty verdict to at least be split, maybe they would try and come to some type of solid monic splitting of saying, okay, we'll find them guilty of counts up to the amount of the reimbursement but at a minimum, the part where weisselberg says that it's a bonus or fee to michael cohen well, that one's not really a false count. and so the fact that they came guilty across the board like that does surprise me and i think it speaks to me, it speaks to the fact that the prosecution had a good theory, a good theme that they carried straight through very long, but the defense didn't have that same thing. >> i spoke with several former trump attorneys in recent days and many of them were suggesting there will be a hung jury. there would be at least one member, one out of the 12 jurors, who would decide

differently from all the others, were you expecting a hung jury wolf with view and i were in vegas yesterday, i would've put all my money on hung jury. yes absolutely. >> do you agree with a lot of years? i do. i i was expecting it to be a hung jury. i didn't know which way that it would go, but to get a to get a unanimous verdict, this quickly was not something that i was necessarily expecting, especially given the complexity of the case, the number of counts and everything else but i can see where the jury came to that given the presentations that were made were you expecting this, jimmy? >> i wish i thought the sun is we would come with friday just again because of the complexity. >> but i think in the end we've talked a lot about common sense. and over the last 56 weeks, we've talked about all of the things that could be make you skeptical about the prosecution. i think at the end of the day the likely reason it was across the board was the

jury believed the underlying motive and they saw those documents and they didn't overthink it the way nothing against the lawyers. >> but you're looking for all the holes in it and they looked and they said, you know what? >> but this makes sense yeah. >> and i just wonder you were saying tim questioning the defense, spending a lot of time on catching kids. i'm karen mcdougal. >> does it tell you anything? that the jury in one of the questions that they asked, the testimony to be re-read was about that. oh, yeah. i mean, the fact that that was one of the first notes that came out, we want to hear testimony. >> does that make it more does that give the defense attorneys more credibility and how they talked about that or you think it's the opposite, know, the opposite they allow the jury to focus on something you karen mcdougal is not part of these charges and they allowed the

jury they even directed the jury in some ways to these ancillary aspects. >> they're really and i wonder whether karen mcdougal would have even been mentioned had the harvey weinstein decision came come down earlier. remember, she that was testimony that came out in the first couple of days with david pecker before the weinstein decision came out, limiting how much you can talk about those so-called other bad acts and so the fact that the jury was focusing on that, i think is a testament to the fact that the defense didn't focus. >> now forget the reason they were talking about the karen mcdougal in terms of josh steinglass is closing was to alert them and say, go back to that phone call, go back a meeting in trump tower and beyond. go back to the eyes and ears precision. that was the most important, but they want them to focus on that and say, because remember that was one of the few times that you actually heard donald trump deputizing in a way, michael cohen essentially saying this, the person you have to talk to, you have women come up is the urinary talking to i'm

paraphrasing here. >> but you're right. the mention of her and the ancillary issues it also is very clear and striking that throw me daniel's was not they tried to discredit her for so many reasons, tried to suggest that her profession and even her name, choice was a reason not to believe her that a person that they tried to paint as somebody who would stop at nothing to get the story out and motivated by money with someone who you could not believe. and yet this jury appears, wait to see appears to believe that well, like steinglass said, the motive here was stormy daniel's because who would you essentially want to silence? who would you have incentive do so somebody who would stop at nothing to get a story out that would be low behold, close to the election. it's clear that these 12 members of the jury clearly believed a lot of what michael cohen was testifying under oath as well, even though his record as a convicted perjure was made clear, abundantly clear, especially by

the defense. >> everybody stand by. i want to go back to anderson in new york. anderson well, thanks very much here with that, kaitlan collins and paula reid, we are waiting the manhattan district attorney, alvin bragg two make remarks that should be happening really at any moment now, this was obviously a big gamble for alvin bragg. i mean we'll also talk to former district attorneys, sayyed vance that office chose not to move forward at charges alvin bragg to another look at this, did move forward. it has been there's been a lot of debate here. he was in court to my knowledge, at least twice. i don't think much more than that. >> yeah, i think the total is probably three times and then he came back today, but this is his chance to speak because of the past year or so, he's taken a very low key approach, is not spoken publicly about this quite a contract fast as some other prosecutors, for example, either attorney general, letitia james here in new york when she had her cases against trump peters, she would hit microphones on the way in and i'm on the way out spar with him social media also down in

georgia, right? fani willis, she's also been quite vocal, but alvin bragg took a different approach, a more traditional prosecutorial approach, not to speak about the case. you can like you said, you only appeared in court a few times the first time we saw this with some paralegals from his office, had to testify this case. we also saw him during the testimony by michael cohen, and then we saw him during closing arguments, but he hasn't really said anything so this appears to be the proper context for prosecutor to speak. and obviously we're waiting to hear from him. >> he is he is one of the first people. i mean, the foremost people that trump attacked throughout this trial he was never under the gag order. trump good. attacked alvin bragg and his willy couldn't attract attack his team. i should note is alvin bragg is up to speak going to come onto this electron any moment now, i'm told that donald trump his remaining in new york city tonight, he's not leaving and going to florida. he's not going to his bedminster club in new jersey either. he is going to stay, you're in the city tonight. he's back at trump tower. now? and he's been surrounded by his political team for much of this entire trial legal advisers have been

in the room. you saw jason miller, one of his political aides with him as he was exiting the courtroom. >> what they are now grappling with is how this affects their calendar for the next several weeks. >> obviously, cnn's debate is in less than a month from today, and that is for donald trump will face joe biden for the first time. it's hard to sail. this doesn't come up at that. then over two weeks after that, that's when he is going to have a little bit after that he's going to have his first sentencing on july 11 in this case at 10:00 in the morning, something that the prosecution, the defense, the judge, agreed to in that courtroom right before trump left for the first time. >> and then the republican national convention is just days after that, the beginning of it, where trump will be in milwaukee with the rest of it the republican party, many of whom have pledged to still support him, even if he is a convicted felon, which of course he now is. >> you're seeing how this is also going to obviously impact the political calendar calendar. we'll see if it impacts voters and what they think, but we have seen in

polling that there are moderates, there are independents who said that it would change. there their view and their willingness to vote with yours, alvin bragg, let's listen good evening first and foremost, i want to thank the jury for its service jurors perform a fundamental civic duty their service is literally the cornerstone of our judicial system. >> we should all be thankful for the careful attention that this jury paid to the evidence and the law.

>> and their time and commitment over these past several weeks 12 everyday new yorkers and of course our alternates. her testimony from 22 witnesses, including former and current employees of the defendant media executives, book publishers custodians of records, and others they reviewed call logs, texts, messages, and emails. they heard recordings they saw checks and invoices, bank statements, and calendar appointments this type of white collar prosecution is core to what we do at the manhattan district attorney's office in the 1930s district attorney thomas dewey ushered in the era of the modern independent professional prosecutor for

now, nearly 90 years, dedicated professionals in his office had built upon that fine tradition a major part of our practice during that nearly 90 years has been public integrity work including cases involving jurists, local and state elected, public servants, and others i want to thank this phenomenal prosecution team embodying the finest traditions of this office professionalism, integrity, dedication, and service. they are model public servants and i am proud and humbled to serve side-by-side with them the 12 every everyday jurors vowed to make a decision based on the evidence. and the

law and the evidence and the law alone their deliberations led them to a unanimous conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt. that the defendant, donald j. trump, is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree to conceal a scheme to corrupt the 2016 election while this defendant may be unlike any other in american history, we arrived at this trial and ultimately today at this verdict in the same manner as every other case that comes to the courtroom doors by following the facts and the law and doing so without fear or favor i want to conclude by expressing deep gratitude to the nypd and the officers of

the officers of the office of court administration for securing the courthouse. all of our safety, making sure the courthouse and all of the other matters that are important in their own right. continued seamlessly they will continue to be an always been incredible partners. thank you do you. >> plan to request a prison sentence donald trump's multiple violations of the gag order that was inflation factor in other festivals the judge as scheduled a sentencing for july 11th. we will speak in court in that time. he also said, emotion schedule speak in our court filings as we've done throughout this proceeding personally and members of your prosecution fever response to the former president is probably i do not february are

you think of all that i did my job our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor. >> and that's exactly what we did here. and what i feel is gratitude to work alongside phenomenal public servants who do that each and every day. it matters that you all write about. i make the press and lots of matters that you don't i did my job. we did our job many voices out there the only voice that matters is the voice of the jury. and the jury has spoken mr steinglass many

people said the prosecution was masterful, and it's flawless. >> just wanted to know how you feel at this moment. >> i'll let you have you here mr. steinglass, i think some of you probably saw him speak for a little bit. >> the other day. so he's done his job as has this team and he just told me to tell him how i feel. i think you said that i will just say just enormous gratitude. our system i talked about the jurors at the beginning of. my remarks we have a phenomenal system 12 every day new yorkers, they listened to the judge's directions. they follow the evidence you saw them in court every day there were careful and attentive. and so i feel deep gratitude, work alongside them to be a part of this system and i just want to echo that. this is what we're doing every single day i mean, during

this trial just this week all right. ghost gun indictment grim, all these wage theft plea resolution sex crimes convictions all sorts of work that's being done by phenomenal public servant. so we're, we're before you today on this. obviously consequential matter but this is what we do every day. we follow the facts in the law without fear or favor if a jail sentence of cards is likely that trump and his attorneys seek a stay on enforcement of that sentence pending appeal if that were the scenario, once your office objectives staying saying the sentence. i'm going to let our words in court speak for themselves when we get to the sentencing matter, i'm i'm not going to address hypotheticals. they raise arguments, will respond. and i think your question really underscores important point.

this is an active ongoing matter, right? we have other phases of this going ahead, we will continue to do are speaking about this matter about issues like that from day one, how did the viability of this case has been questioned? >> it all sorts of media outlets all over the place, including from the defendant himself. can you respond to any of that out how you feel now that you've gotten the conviction sumar, my response again, as i did my job and i think particularly i talked about the history of the office my personal history. i started as a prosecutor in 2003 and the public integrity unit in the new york state attorney general's office has served also in the public integrity unit in the southern district of new york these are kinda cases. i've done personally. and it's a hallmark of the tradition of this office that i'm proud to lead. and i don't want to go into the whole body of litigation but we

now have a federal court decision ruling on the legal theories. we had a state court decision on the omnibus motions, but most importantly, today, we have the most important voice of all and that's the voice of the jurors. they have spoken donald j. trump has been convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records. thank attorney, your office has been investigating this case since 20 or you about retribution if trump is elected president supreme court manhattan district attorney alvin bragg making brief remarks and not going too much detail about about the case, about the various the history of this i want to bring in foreign manhattan district attorney sidebands and then who had this job before? >> alvin bragg i appreciate you being with us. >> attorney general. mr. detroit is dirty vance. >> i'm wondering what first of all, what your thoughts are on

what alvin bragg has said and on this verdict well, i want to preface my saying how how deeply i appreciate the excellent work that my former office did under alvin bragg now, and this team, this trial team, i think they were superb both in their dedication to bringing a tough case forward and the execution of that work in trial, which a quick verdict i think reflects reflects how well they put this case together in terms of how you spent years investigating this case and eventually handed over to alvin bragg? >> we spent we spent several years investigate again, we are slowed down by covid, but we went to the supreme court twice to get access to trump's financial records in tax returns which led to the his indictment on during my time of the trump organization and the cl cfo. and so we were i think we were the first two or three

chapters of this long book that alvin bragg has written, chapters that same book since i left. but i congratulate de a bragg i thought his remarks i thought it was a class act. you know, he was circumscribed. he was not boastful he said he did his job and no more than do his job. and i think that's how he is presented himself and should be it should be recognized for how difficult this was as the judge should be recognized for how difficult his job was in managing it extraordinarily important trial with some extraordinarily volatile players there were questions when you were the da about whether you would actually bring charges. >> you did not when you left office, alvin bragg continuing investigation. and did why did you not bring charges while you were in office at that stage anderson, i don't want to go into our internal conversations while i was district attorney

because i think those are determined to be confidential but we were focusing on the financial aspects of the trump organization and individuals in it the southern district, as you may recall? all right. >> charged michael cohen declined to go further on that case. they asked us to stand down in our investigation, which i did because i thought that was the right thing to do. and we simply move on to a different a different essentially different lane. and it was in that lane after we had indicted the trump organization and the cfo that we were concluded continued for so but it's always the new district attorney's responsibility to decide how he wants to move forward. so it's not so much anderson, i say, why didn't die, but why did alvin bragg, alvin bragg salt something that he felt he wanted to pursue that could be pursued productively. that was important and i think today vindicates his decision. i

applaud them for it, and i applaud the office for what did you are you surprised at all that jurors came back, with a guilty counts on a 34 counts. >> i mean, each one there had been some talk that perhaps they would have find him not guilty on some somewhat easier charges, guilty. they found him guilty on everything obviously, interesting, i was going i didn't know how this case was going to land with the jury, and i think there was a lot of speculation that there was gonna be a hung jury and and at the end of the day, as i as the case was developed and as the trial started you really saw the building blocks the careful way the prosecution built the building blocks of its case with so much physical evidence, documentary evidence, witness testimony so i was really not surprised at this verdict. >> i think get occurred perhaps a day earlier than i thought it might. i think this was a quick verdict, but i think that