i have won several math so can i fly course while if you got them eric, i was told the thing that was texting, women were made a challenge in the region. ah, well not being thrown away. i want to sleep. we don't have read them in. did study these evacuation now places 3 day journey to a shelter west. right. so and this choice of countries someone needs to rebuild ah hello, i'm adrian. i got an in doha about the summary of a news on al jazeera, a funeral, spent held in moscow for one of russia's most influential military bloggers, flatland, petoskey, was killed in an explosion of the cafe in saint petersburg. on sunday,

a 26 year old woman has been arrested l 0 dorsal jibari is there one of his closest friends that we spoke to said that this is really a day of celebrating his life. they are not here to really mourn him, but to celebrate his achievements is being hailed as a hero of russia and, and that he wanted one thing and one thing only, and that is for russia to be a victorious in the war in ukraine. we also saw a number of politicians paying their respects at this event, which is heavily, heavily guarded by security forces. there was a number of barricades as well as metal detectors that have been put up around the cemetery to control the crowds that were coming in taiwan. says that more than 70 chinese aircraft and 9 warships of crossed the taiwan strait, median lion. it spotted 3 days of military drills, paging announced of the president sighing when visited the u. s. or in taipei

president sighing when held on the meeting with us officials of delegation for washington. but by the chairman of the house, foreign affairs committee is there to discuss. weapons supplies it. israel one person's been killed at at least 5 injured in a car running in tel aviv police, or the attacker was a palestinian israeli, who was shot and killed at the scene of corresponded him wrong. com has bought from ramallah some 96 people have been killed. 93 of those here in the occupied westbank but it's the injuries. now there was another israeli raid at last night in, but kenya jeanine at where 2 palestinians were injured. the actual number of injuries is astounding. its $2560.00, since the year began. it's april the 8th. and that really is something now that the palestinians are concerned with the trauma. awe of those who have survived those israeli raids are the types of injuries we're seeing from live bullets being used live ammunition am and from people who were just caught in the crossway. that's

becoming increasingly more important for mental health for medical health professionals here in the occupied west by the u. s. vice president cobbler harris has met 2 democrats who were expelled from the republican crow tennessee house of representatives. they let a protest against gun control laws on the floor of the house last week. access to a widely used abortion pill has been put into limbo following to compete in court rulings in the u. s. on friday, a judge in texas order drug regulators to put a hold on the fed prestone despite the pill being ruled safe for decades. soon after a judge in washington state told the federal drug administration it couldn't restrict access to the drug. and at least 17 states there is no question then the president and i are going to den with the women of america and do everything we are that women have the ability to make decisions about their health care and their

reproductive note here in the, in the man or day when they need and they decide that not all of the say about the general matter. it is very what makes with the reuters news agency is reporting the location from south rate. saudi arabia is planning to visit yemen next week. the talks are aimed at because seeing a permanent cease fire with through the rebels, it's part of efforts to end the ha, a war between the iran backed group and saudi led military alliance. iraq has called on turkey out to apologize for shelling so many airports and it's northern kurdish region. the government says the banker has no legal justification to

continue its military operation on iraq. he soil a took his throat attack, hit an area near the airport on friday. turkey says it's targeting kurdish fighters that it considers terrorists, others the headlines more use for here on al jazeera of to the bottom line. next. oh i, i am steve clement and i have a question. donald trump just became the 1st former us president to face criminal charges. but is it prosecution or persecution? it matters. let's get to the bottom line. the former president, donald trump, is accused of crimes in connection with a hush money payment to an adult film star. before the 2016 election, the district attorney of new york is accusing him of falsifying his business records with quote,

intent to commit another crime and conceal the commission thereof. those are fancy words, but that's end quote. the crime in question is new york state election law, which considers it illegal to promote a candidacy by unlawful means in court. trump pleaded not guilty to all of the allegations and like everything about trump, the cases divided. the nation with this support is accusing democrats, playing dirty politics in the run up to the next year's presidential election, where trump is a leading republican candidate. so which one is it a justified legal case? or he politically motivated, which aren't. and what's the fall out for both republicans and democrats today? we're talking with michael. it's a cough, the chief investigative correspondent for yahoo news and co author of russian roulette the inside story of putting the war on america. and the election of donald trump and michael richey, republican strategist, and communications director for the republican, former governor of maryland. larry hogan. let me start off with you, mike. yes,

a cough and ask you to share with our audience what is that play? now what did donald trump face earlier this week? with regards to the indictment and arraignment, he went through and what is the process as we look forward? where is the meet in this story? right? well, i should start out by just pointing out the huge irony of this indictment. we have spent much of the last 2 years more than 2 years now talking about whether donald trump was going to be held accountable for his efforts to overthrow the results of the election of 2020 i. and how that led to the rampage on january 6th. and here we are with the 1st criminal charges against donald trump, and it has nothing to do in 2020. it's all about his 1st election in 2016. and the implication from alvin bragg's indictment is that i should tell our audience that

alvin bragg is the district attorney of new york. correct? my correct. he is, the prosecutor who brought this indictment and the essence of the indictment is that donald trump, i a falsified internal business records of the trump organization to cover up to conceal the fact that he was paying hush money to a former porn star. i stormy daniels i so that she didn't talk about an alleged sexual encounter that she had with donald trump 9 years earlier. and stormy daniels was short short of shopping this story around to the news media. i, in the closing weeks of 2016, trump obviously was concerned that this story coming on top of the access hollywood video that got released on october 7th. you may recall,

i would add to his problems with women voters, and he didn't want it out before the election. so he arranged through his lawyer, michael cohen to pay off ah, stormy daniels to keep her quiet $130000.00. i shall company was set up ha, to facilitate these payments. and i dont and michael cohen the lawyer ultimately pled guilty to federal charges of election law violations. the contention was that these payments were an election law crime because they were done for the benefit of aiding donald trump's campaign. i and wasn't disclosed as campaign expenditures are supposed to be disclosed. ah, there is a lot of debate about this indictment about that because basically the initial

charge that alvin brag is district attorney is brought here, was falsifying business records standing alone under new york state penal code that is a misdemeanor, but brags prosecutors a bump it up to a felony under the theory that because it was being used to conceal a nother crime, the election law violation. i that makes it a classy felony. a classy being the lowest form of felony, but it is a felony for which somebody convicted can go to prison for up to 4 years. there are $34.00 felony counts in this indictment, that's for each and every entry and check that was done to make those payments to michael cohen. it's really the same crime repeated $34.00 times in the indictment. ah. and so i that, that makes it sound quite serious. but as i said, there's

a lot of, there's a lot of debate about this indictment. it is a bit of a rube goldberg ask bang shod for maloney as records to cover up another crime. i and we'll see whether it stands up, but certainly it's given fodder for all sides. those who don't like donald trump to say air. he's finally being felt held accountable for something that he did to get him elected in the 1st place in 2016 and a lot of others. republicans, but not just republicans. a lot of them independence and legal scholars are raising questions about whether i this is gonna ultimately hold up. or let me ask. thank you very much for that. but let me ask michael ritchie, is there a gap here that we're not paying attention to between laws on the books and norms that people think, hey, that's okay. if president trump did this, there is no legal infraction here that we care about will save. i think that's something that president,

president from specializes in is widening that gap. and it's funny you framed a question of mike as looking forward, but all we have to do is look back to the we've been through this before so many times where he talks about american carnage and talks about weapon ization, the federal government, and republicans. and we rationalize his behavior, we say we need to say to studiously avoid the i or of his bass. and in so doing it, you know, stretch the definition of norms and customs and you know what, these legal cases, especially public corruption cases. you know, you can pick them apart, you can get into the weeds, but the bottom line is that the group think on this was already said, well, before anybody even saw the indictment about how this is a political prosecution. but mike is a gov, i want to ask you about some of the other cases that are out there that are facing donald trump, you know, in a special council investigation about january 6th, about class my documents about meddling in georgia. can you share with our audience

some of the other legal arenas right now, the donald trump right facing right, exactly. in the end, you know, that's one of the reasons a lot of people who do want donald trump to be held accountable are somewhat disappointed that this case, which involves events in the 2016 election is the one, is the 1st criminal case that he's faced because these other 3 investigations that he's facing are far more serious and are likely to register, you know, but far more with the american public. and the next the, the 1st one to watch. and i think it, it is likely to be the next shooter drop is the georgia investigation by fulton county district attorney. a funny willis in 2 trumps efforts to overturn the results of the election in georgia in 2020 we've. busy all heard about for more than 2 years now. the famous phone call that he made to brad reference burger,

the george a secretary of state, asking him to find just enough votes. one more than we need to put him over the top. but there's a lot else that funny will as has been digging into the fake a letter scheme. ah, that was done in georgia above the blatantly false testimony that rudy giuliani gave to the georgia legislature. and a lot of other shenanigans that went on by trump and his allies to pressure ga, officials to change the results of the election. so look for that. i think by the summer we're going to see a criminal charges there. and then of course, there's the 2 special council investigations by jack smith, one into the glass, my documents and mar logo that were discovered. that's an obstruction case right now. how i am trump was subpoenaed to return these documents that he took with them

for from the white house i he failed to do so the f b, i did a search, they found a lot more material, highly classified. so did trump himself directed those classified documents not be returned to the government the way they were supposed to? that's number one. and then of course, the big one is january 6th. and doug, whether trump's actions leading up to the events of january 6, ah, cause the violence that occurred on that day. and, and those are very active ongoing investigations. jack smith just want to big victory. a couple of big legal victories in requiring ah, testimony from mark meadows and other senior white house officials. i he just, it just today the news broke that former vice president pants is not going to appeal the judicial rules. ah, that would force him to testify in that investigation. so there's

a lot of heavy up, a fire power behind jack's miss investigation. it's going on. you know, it seems there's a lot of activity. but if you factor in all the people who are gonna have to testify before, he can conclude this investigation, i think it's gonna take a more time. so we got the funny willis thing coming up i, you know, may, june, possibly july. and them the jack smith stuff. so the bottom line is, you know, no matter what he says, and no matter how people feel about it, donald trump is going to have to be spending a lot of time in a lot of court rooms, even while he's running for president or mike, which he one of the things it has surprised me and you know, maybe i don't have the full story, is that one can be a convicted criminal and still be elected president of the united states still service press, united states, you know, almost all of the other candidates out include including your former boss was

nearly, was thought of as a potential candidate for president. how do you think they're hearing what mike is a cough just shared because my sense is that from the moment donald trump's private estate was rated by the f b i. and also from the moment when he announced himself, in fact, we've got this the same, or we can show up right now where it reads the, the far and away leading republican candidate and former president of the united states of america will be arrested on tuesday. of next week, protest take our nation back almost as if he wanted this to happen because it fueled ah, the engines beneath his campaign and brought him back to life if you will. so what's going on among senior republicans that are vying for the white house. you know, i think there, you know, you're always trying to recalibrate, especially in terms of your schedule. i mean, i was looking at, you know, nikki haley this week, for instance, she was at the border on monday. she released her fundraising report today. it's

almost a bizarre world where those are all in their own impressive and strong messages. but how much oxygen is that really getting? so it was almost like a preview of what we're going to see in the month to come. where are these candidates will be trying to do, you know, the standard political things, you know, go do rallies and go to i will go to new hampshire, whole town halls while you have this spectacle that's ongoing. and there was a time, not long ago when the president trump, we're only seeing him, you know grainy photos of mara logo. maybe he went to somebody's wedding and stopped by and said hello or we heard about a dinner he was having with matt gates are some member of congress. and now all he has to do is announce rally. and he can suck back all that oxygen. so i think for those candidates, there's figuring out how to carry on their own schedules, but also steve, it's the, the constant pressure. and obviously governor sanders experiencing this. everything you say is measured against your either asked about trump or you're measured against what you're saying. these of each trump and you know, there's just not

a universe i experienced this in the governor's office, where you can say, i'm going to go about my business day after day and not try not to comment on it. it just, it worked. it were for mitch mcconnell for a time when the president was an office, but it's, it's very difficult to do that the media because if you don't answer those questions then it's, you know, i mean look what's happening with vice president pansy sort of getting measured against what he's trying to say, and he's trying to carry on his own message, so it's a constant struggle. i'd love to get your insights into that. mike s a cough and find out from you whether you think. yeah, there is some dimension of fear. uncertainty and wobbling us in the posture that donald trump is presenting right now. i. all he had to do was look at him yesterday and he, in those images of hearing in the court, walking into the courtroom and in the court room. he was somber. i. he was a, you know, not at all happy to be where he was. he had advertisers,

people at advertise, he was going to make comments. i, at the court house i, he did no such thing. and somebody who was it watching him closely yesterday and said he seemed, he seemed a, he seemed rattled and he seemed diminished by the whole process. now once he got back to mar along, oh, he got back into his comfort zone and gave that speech firing off shot said everybody left and right bragg. funny willis, jack smith. i am a bit hit back all the, you know, his favorite litany of imagined abuses. but i, you know, anybody watching him yesterday knows that he's not happy about this predicament that he's in. and i should add, you know, you asked about nikki haley before this is a train wreck for the republican party. i'm because this indictment has

rallied republicans behind trompe surging in the poles. he's shot well ahead of de santis. i'm in part because it is a controversial indictment. it doesn't. it doesn't feel like the kind of a criminal charge that we should be bringing for the 1st time against the former president that there ought to be more gravitas to the alleged criminal conduct here than this sort of tawdry series of events involving a porn star. ah, but are, but you know, the attacks on brag may have some traction right now. but when finally willis comes in and chargers far more serious offenses that people that will register with the public. it's going to be a lot harder for trump to maintain this idea that he is the victim of

political persecution. and, and the republican party seems to be stuck with him because there is no other candidate right now. we de santis was seemed like he was the guy, he was trump b, but not trump best. and therefore he could appeal to the trump base buddy wasn't donald trump himself. but he hasn't stepped up to the plate. ah, in these, in these last couple of months, there's serious questions as whether he has, you know, the goods to be a presidential candidate or national stage. and trump is sucking up all the oxygen . so the republicans are in the 8 incredible bind here because they really don't want donald trump to be their standard bearer in 2024 to be against joe biden. but you know, they may be stuck with him now. well, you know, like mike richie, i listen carefully to what people say, and i'd like us to listen for a moment to

a sound clip we have of donald trump speaking at mar lago list. listen to president trump incredibly, we are now a failing nation. we are a nation in decline, and now these radical left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using the law enforcement. we can't let that happen. my critique, if you take that bit of commentary and you detach it from all the bombs, he fired at all the people that mike, as a cough, just shared that statement resonates with a lot of americans. it resonates with mitt romney, who is a big donald trump critic and the republican party it resonates across the board. you know, i'm just be interested in how people that, you know, well, in the republican party, many pragmatic republican reasonable main street republicans are my guess. how are they feeling this moment?

and do they see his commentary like that as a solvent critique of america today? well, i think, i think the different steve from 2016 is that president trump, you know, this isn't the rhetoric is somewhat familiar, but back in 2016, he was at least presenting some semblance of a platform. there was a time that all of us and republican circles are trying to recreate what, what was, what's aren't, you know, he's talking building a wall. and we used to say for years like, what's the next build the wall? because it was so ingenious and it rallied people in it, it was a solution to a problem. and now it's just just straight ra grievance politics and injects it right into the you know, the veins of his base, so to speak, and for republicans, and makes it hard to present any kind of credible alternative or, or, or positive platform to get independent and suburban voters back, but you know, you mentioned romney and i wanted to talk about that briefly. i think to mike's previous answer about the upcoming investigation, you could definitely see

a universe where center romney or people likes and around the are trying to preserve their ability when more serious charges to come out and say, look, this is the serious thing. this is the thing that republican serious republicans need to rally behind and say, this is serious. it can't be our standard bearer anymore. so they're not saying he's playing politics there, but there may be a universe and where it's, you know, yeah, this is questionable. but this is serious, the problem there, steve, is my experience. you know, people will be saying to you quietly behind the scenes. oh yeah. you go say, you know, you call on him to drop out of the race, and then not people see what happens to those, you know, early voices who try to like acer, hutchinson, i guess right now, who try to speak out and become that can be a very lonely journey, so to speak. well look, we all live in washington dc. we've got a big global audience. so seeing this right now, my friend mike isic off his plugged in in every corner of this town. and mike, i got to just be honest with the public that at cocktail parties in washington dc. the chatter is who else will succeed if donald trump is eventually forced out one

way or another out of the election? and then you look at the democratic equation where joe biden says he's going to ronnie's revenue up to run. there's just a lot of doubt in democratic circles that he will run. what do you have on in a mammy? what is that chaos going to be healthy? healthier than the 2 choices we might otherwise, that iran work every time you know, there's the, there's the cocktail party chatter in washington, in which the cognizant they always believes they got a pretty good handle on how things are going to play out. ah, in a presidential race, this one is as unpredictable as any i've ever been through i and, and watched. and there are, i can give you 10 plausible scenarios, how all this plays out. ah, and they're all equally, he possible from donald trumping criminally, convicted and going to prison to donald trump being you know,

elected again as president states. ah, does joe biden, you know, actually run. i mean, every is giving every indication he's going to run. a lot of you know, behind the scenes democrats are nervous about that he will ease and octogenarian to serve as president for another 4 years when he will be what 80 i by the last year of his presidency that some you know, makes a lot of people queasy and then of course you have come all harris. i issue i as to whether she's up for succeeding him as president, but no democrat is going to talk about this publicly right now. so i, you know, i, i've talked to a lot of senior democrats who will say, yeah, biden will say, is going to run. and then at some point and down the road before the end of the

year early next year, conclude that he was not going to run after all, in which case it's a total freefall in the democratic party. but if he doesn't do that, i and you know, he stays healthy enough. he will be the nominee and come on, come all harris will be the vice presidential nominee as well. well, i love this conversation when a lot of new corners, and i hope you'll both be back. veteran journalists, michael is a coughing republican strategist, michael richey, thank you so much for being with us today. q. so what's the bottom line? well, how sacred is a former president supposed to be in france or korea? it's really normal for former heads of state to be dragged into court in the united states. it's just never happened before. trump is usual, has broken the mold and prove that a former president, well is just a normal citizen. of course, the sleazy eunice of his alleged behaviour add spice to this case. business fraud isn't everyday thing,

but allegedly paying hush money to adult film stars is kind of out there. so the court will decide if trump's alleged fraud is tied to his dreams of becoming president back in 2016. but the trial could be tied up in motions in appeals for years. my got sort of tells me that many americans just aren't going to buy that. this is the sort of criminal offense he should be convicted up. and by the way, the whole process isn't hurting him at all. it's fueling his campaign and his re emergent as the most powerful republicans in america. and that the bottom line, ah. when the news the beginning of the year when people need to be heard and the story needs to be told, i just want to research deeply and dive into its history and origin. with exclusive interviews and to south korea traditionally sees the cherry blossom 1st. al jazeera

had on the ground to be your winning document trees and live ah, in a newly lou. hello again, adrian. instead of going to here in dough, how about the headlines on al jazeera, one of russia's most influential military bloggers has been buried in moscow. flatland, petoskey was killed.