doing of election sheets with the planets. this is what it is all about is about ensuring that life when i can continue planetary justice on al jazeera, it's a 1000000000 dollar money known drink operation. the coal mafia is bigger than the company with financial institutions, regulators and governments complicit about ways altering what is it. is it right? i've described that in a 4 part series. algio 0 is investigative unit because under cover in southern africa, elizabeth bennett, we can fill 90 percent who is dylan. once it's the following, it's perfectly brand new, good. pop 3 on arches era i'm robot. as an indo, how the top stories and al jazeera major protests have returned to television, other israeli cities

opposition to apply and legal overhaul is still strong, even though the government is delaying the changes. critics say the planned amendment sort of threats to democracy, oppose as follow a week of wise intentions in jerusalem, the west bank and gaza, as well as fears of a wider escalation that could include southern lebanon. russell center has more from tentative. you people have just left the area here, the come on street at which has been hosting the demonstration since weeks here just to let a better go. tons of houses if is riley's, were here and protest in government, judicial overhaul. so i have been talking to some of the protesters here, the said that they feared that the country on the did the most a right wing government in his roused history is more and more turning into a dictatorship. there's been more violence and the occupied westbank. israeli settlers stopped vehicles and attacked palestinians near a police checkpoint and author ramallah. there was

a 2nd. the settler attack targeting palestinians in the village of darrell balloon . and a 20 year old palestinian man has been killed by his early forces in the west bank town of eye soon. i had, i saw my slim was reportedly shot in the chest and the stomach is really forces have killed 97 palestinian since the start of the year. took his present zip tie about one has urged israel to take the necessary measures against raves on muslim holy sites in a phone conversation with israeli president iser. hertzog. how do i unstated that the incursion is repeated? every ramadan hurt the conscience of all humanity, not just muslims. 31 children have been reunited with their families in ukraine after being taken to russia. cave accuses moscow of deporting them. the grain says more than 19000 children have been illegally sent to russia. moscow says is protecting them from war. sandy, arabia and yelman's huffy movement have carried out

a prisoner swap. the host is received 13 prisoners after releasing one saudi their own in back hoodies and a satellite military alliance. i've been fighting for the last 8 years and told to bring about a permanent ceasefire dealer getting underway in the yamini capital, santa mediators from oman and leading the effort. diplomatic efforts have stepped out since the thawing of relations from saudi arabia and to run the 2 countries or re establishing diplomatic ties as part of a deal broken by beijing. thou one another mo, give you not a sabbath. we affirm our position adhering to our just cause as emphasized by the leader in more than speech at just demands are stopping the aggression completely lifting the blockade completely paying the salaries of all jamini employees from oil and gas revenues, compensation and reconstruction, as well as the exit of foreign forces from yemen. the allies and saudi officials are in iran for discussions to reopen their embassy. the 2 rivals have agreed to

resume direct flights, and they're working on re establishing trade deals, a saudi, and iranian foreign ministers. matt, for the 1st time in 7 years earlier this week. iranian authorities are installing cameras in public places to crack down on women who disobey compulsively dress codes. please say those caught breaking the law or be warned of the consequences through text message. growing number of a rainy and woman has stopped covering their hair in protest against the death of 22 year old masa harmony in police custody last year. 2 security officials have been killed and several have been wounded in a bomb attack in pakistan's province of cable potomac while the attack on saturday happened a day after pakistan announced an operation against on roofs in the country. pope francis as urged his followers not to lose hope despite conference. some round the world ahead of the roman catholic church delivered the message during an easter

vigil in st. peter's basilica, 86 year old, missed the annual good friday procession because of cold weather and roll. those are the headlines. the news continues here on al jazeera after the bottom line. 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 with china? 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 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's base 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 album bragg's indictment is that i should tell our audience that albin 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. and there is

a lot of debate about this indictment about it, because basically the initial charge that alvin brag 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 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 i. 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 a bang shot for bologna 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 ok. 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 for him, the question of mike, as looking forward, but all we have to do is look back the we've been through this before so many times where he talks about american carnage and talks about weapon, his asian, the federal government, and republicans. and we rationalize his behavior. we say we need to say it a studiously avoid the i are of as vase and in so doing a, 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 and 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 counsel investigation about january 6th,

about class my documents about meddling and georgia. can you share with our audience some of the other legal arenas right now? the donald trump racing 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 face. 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 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 about 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 georgia 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. oh, i and 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 direct that those are 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 those are very active ongoing investigations. jack smith just want a 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 dumb. former vice president pants is not going to

appeal to judicial ruling that would force him to testify and 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 richie one of the things that 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

serve as president. i'd states, you know, almost all of the other candidates out there 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 gets 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 statement 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 nikki haley this week, for instance, she was at the border on monday. she released her fundraising report today. it's almost a bizarre, a 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, you know, president trump, we were only seeing him, you know, grainy photos of moral logo. maybe he went to somebody's wedding and stopped by and said hello or we heard about a dinner he was having with my gates or 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 to standards 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 that advertise, he was going to make comments. i, at the court house i, he did no such thing. and somebody who was 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 logo, he got back into his comfort zone and gave that speech firing off shots at the everybody left and right. brag funny will. as jack smith, i am, you know, rebuilding him back all the, you know, his favorite litany of imagined abuses. but i, you know, anybody watching him yesterday knows that he was 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 in for the 1st time against a former president that there ought to be more gravitas to the alleged criminal conduct here than the sort of tawdry series of events involving a a porn star, ah, but are, but you know, the attacks on brag may have some traction right now. but when finally will, is, comes in and chargers far more serious offenses that people that will register with

the public. and it's gonna 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 months, there's serious questions as whether he has, you know, the goods to be a presidential candidate, our national stage. and trump is 2nd 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 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 gets, 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, 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? while 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 we're trying to recreate like, what was, what's, are you talking building a wall? and we used to say for years like, what's the next build the wall? because it was so ingenious in 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, it 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 that romney and i wanted to talk about that briefly. i think to my

previous answer about the upcoming investigation, you can definitely see a universe where senator romney are people like sent 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 in 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 it 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, you know, 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, you know,

donald trump being 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 in 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 it a lot of people queasy and then of course you have the 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, as 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 behavior,

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 and 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 reemergence as the most powerful republicans in america. and that the bottom line, ah, unflinching questions is war with will wander imminent rigorous debate. people who are dying because of lack of medical treatment black lives don't really matter in the police will join me markham on hill upfront. what al jazeera algebra is here to

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