demanding freedom, demanding a change in power despite the repression of the government. however, the government is going ahead and despite the international outcry from other countries in the region, including the united states, who recognize gonzalez as the legitimate president elect, they are going ahead and listen to how the interior minister describes or responds to other countries who criticize what is going on in caracas. >> morgan sergio gor domino. >> go play dominoes. you are meddling in the internal affairs of other countries. i have some dominoes from my show. i can give them to you. what do i know? go play something. but don't play meddling in venezuela. >> almost scorning other countries who take a stand on venezuela. now we know that the venezuelan situation has massive impact across the entire western hemisphere. more than 8 million migrants have left venezuela under maduro's rule. many of them arrived at

the u.s. southern border. and this is why this is proving to be an early test of the upcoming trump presidency in washington, d.c. sara. >> yeah, the fury about what is going on there is very clear in the streets. stephanie joseph aoun, thank you so much. a new hour starts right now. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> all right. we have a lot of breaking news going on right at this moment. president elect donald trump is set to officially become a convicted felon shortly, just ten days before he is set to be sworn into office for a second time. a hearing is about to kick off. trump will be sentenced in the new york hush money case, where he was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying documents. the supreme court refused to step in. overnight, it was a54 vote. chief justice john roberts and justice amy coney barrett. they voted with the democratic appointed justices. now this morning, trump's appearance will be virtual. he will not be there, but there will be an audio recording and

a forum for trump if he wants to rant. we should note that he is appealing this verdict, but that will not keep it from being rendered today. the sentencing. let's get to the courthouse. cnn's chief legal analyst laura coates, standing by outside laura. >> a day that donald trump thought would never come or perhaps hoped would never come. we remember that it was now, months and months ago, when a jury convicted him of 34 felony counts. he has tried to kick this can down the road, appealing to even the highest court, trying to ensure that he will not convert from a person found guilty to officially a sentenced convicted felon. but here we are in new york city, manhattan, where, frankly, the prosecutor said it all began on this falsified business records case. the catch and kill, prompting the allegations about what has transpired. now he continues to fight back. but here we are today in one of the

strangest of sentencings. normally a defendant literally can't phone it in. they've got to be present. they're not necessarily aware of what their sentence is going to be. they have no idea whether it will be a jail or a fine or some probationary period. here this judge judge merchan, who trump is accused of being biased against him, has already signaled to the president elect that he will not serve jail time, will not get a fine, and won't have some constrained probationary period. and yet still, he has to appear to jump start not only the end of this trial period, but the official sentencing. but to really preserve and maximize his ability to now appeal, which he continues to do. so here we are in a kind of moment of truth. what will this judge ultimately say? how will he address the contempt violations and beyond? i want to bring in cnn senior legal analyst and former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york, elie honig, who is here with us this morning. elie, here we

are, new york. it's about to go down in terms of the sentence. we know a little bit about what he's not going to get, but walk us through, set the stage on why we're here. >> yeah. >> laura donald trump fought to the bitter end to try to prevent this from happening. >> and in a dramatic ruling that came down last night, the supreme court, by a 5 to 4 vote, said you can go ahead with this sentencing. we saw an interesting cross-ideological majority where conservatives chief justice roberts and justice amy coney barrett joined with the three liberals to say go ahead with the sentencing. now, when we last convened in court seven months ago, donald trump had just been convicted by the jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records. and just to refresh everyone's memory, what happened there, the underlying conduct was, in 2016, donald trump made hush money payments to stormy daniels. now the crime comes in. in the documentation, the allegation found by the jury is that trump falsely had those payments labeled as attorneys fees or

retainers. now, the crime that donald trump has been convicted of is a class e felony under new york state law. that's the lowest of the five levels of felony. the maximum penalty for a class e felony is four years. now, the vast majority of defendants who do get convicted of class e felonies do not get prison time. they may get probation. some do get prison time a minority, but donald trump's not going to prison. in fact, we have a pretty good sense of what the judge is going to do here, because last week, judge marchand issued an opinion, and in it he said that he intends not for sure, but intends to sentence donald trump to an unconditional discharge. and what that means translating the legal jargon is nothing. no prison, no probation, no fines, no restitution, no community service. now here's what's going to happen today over this zoom that we will apparently get audio of after the fact. the da's office will get to make its statement. alvin bragg is the d.a. he won't be the one making the statement. it will be someone from the

prosecution team. most importantly, donald trump. any defendant has a right to speak at his own sentencing. so if trump wants he can speak. he can say whatever he wants. the final word will be judge marchand's. laura, as you noted, an important thing will happen at the end of this sentencing. it will become official. we will have what we know as a judgment of conviction. at that point, his conviction will be official, but not quite necessarily final. as you said, donald trump still has his appeal rights. now we are in the trial court in new york. they call it the new york supreme court. very confusingly, i didn't make the names. but donald trump then has the ability. he has the automatic right to appeal up to the appellate division, maybe to the highest court of new york, the court of appeals, and ultimately, laura, we could end up right back where we were last night with the u.s. supreme court. we'll see if they take it. that's a long way down the road. so today we're focusing back on the trial court, where you're sitting outside of laura coates. >> and of course, the idea that it was a54 decision, we might

not have even been at this moment, he has been pushing not to have it sentenced. and now the court is saying you can go forward. a lot of people wondering why he would fight so hard, given the fact that he's not going to get much more than maybe a verbal slap on the wrist. but he is very angry about this case. he always has been. even as recently as this week, i want to bring in chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid. trump has sounded off on how he has felt about this entire process, and why he continues to fight. you have been talking with sources this very morning. tell me how that trump team is feeling even heading into this today? >> well, i will say that his lawyers are feeling a lot more optimistic than the president elect, even though they fought to block today's sentencing, they believe that it's a huge win that their client, having been convicted on 34 felony counts, is only going to face an unconditional discharge that is less than the consequence for a speeding ticket. now, trump, of course he has. as you noted, he has always been angry about this case from the start. and

today's sentencing is symbolic of his conviction that anger is what has driven these zealous appeals that we've seen really since the case started, but especially in the past few days. but his lawyers believe that this is really just checking a box so they can move forward with their appeals. and if you zoom out and look at the big picture, they're like, hey, he was facing four criminal cases, some of which were very significant earlier this year. and now the two federal cases have been dismissed. the georgia prosecutor, fani willis, has been disqualified for now and then. this case is only facing an unconditional discharge. so they believe that overall, this is an enormous victory for him. and they point out he gets to be president again. so today they expect this will last around 45 minutes. we will as la la noted, we'll hear from the judge. we'll hear from prosecutors. todd blanche one of trump's defense attorneys. he will speak. but at this point, i'm told it's unclear if trump will address the court and of course, todd blanche someone who will go into the

justice department after the inaugural process. >> of course, for now, the 47th president of the united states. paula. and recall, they have been making the argument ever since the supreme court handed down an opinion about immunity of what a president could be held immune from for so-called official acts. the trump team has been fighting very hard to suggest that some of what came in in this underlying trial was about conduct relating to official acts. the judge has been unconvinced by this premise, but certainly they are hoping for the supreme court ultimately to still have their appellate insight into all these matters. paula, when you're looking at this case compared to, say, the jack smith involved, matters we've heard about earlier in the week, this is one of the cases that no matter whether he's the president or not, he has no pardon power here. he can't make this go away. >> yeah, that's exactly right. and that's one of the things that frustrates him. but you talked really about what's going to happen next, which is they're going to continue to appeal this based on the supreme court's decision about

immunity, that presidents cannot be charged for official acts. but there was another really key part of that decision, which is you can't use official acts as evidence to support other charges. and the trump team really seized on that for the manhattan case, arguing that certain pieces of evidence, for example, conversations that he had with hope hicks should not have been able to come in under that decision. and while that has not succeeded so far, laura, the fact that they were able to get four justices to agree last night to say that, yeah, we would have probably stopped this sentencing, that was really surprising because most legal experts thought this was a long shot, way too soon for the supreme court to get involved. but if they can get four justices, two of whom he appointed on board with that, it is highly possible that they might be able to get one more justice on board with the idea that this conviction should be overturned based on that immunity case. so this is something they will continue to pursue. might take a while, but they're feeling pretty good. >> and of course, judge merchan wanting to have this buttoned up because that is what is the

catalyst for being able to go through your full appellate rights. of course, this is not the ordinary course of affairs, is it? thank you so much. i want to get back to sarah. >> all right. thank you so much for the update there. we will be waiting to see what happens in court. we will be able to hear eventually what is said. now to the deadly wildfire disaster in los angeles. a new fire exploded overnight. this hour, as the sun rises, the scene of flames and destruction once again greeting residents this morning, the death toll has jumped to at least ten people, with thousands of homes and entire neighborhoods wiped out. let's get right to stephanie elam. stephanie, you've been in both of the major places where this destruction is just unbelievable and unprecedented. where are you now and what are you seeing? as the light is beginning to peek through? >> sort of starting to peek through. i say that, sarah, because it is so smoky out here

right now, that i think it should be a little bit brighter than it is right now, but it's thick because just on the other side of the ridge, for me, the fire is burning out towards the wilderness. but where i'm standing right now is in altadena, and this is up against the foothills. so last time i spoke to you, i think not last time, but two days ago i was over in the palisades fire. now i'm here and look at this. it's the same situation, and i wish i could just say that it was just this house. i wish i could say that it wasn't that house and that house and that house across the street. entire blocks just completely devastated and it's almost unfathomable that there is this much loss at this time to see this here, to see what we saw. the palisades fire, it looks almost like a movie set of what they would say a town would look like after armageddon. that's what it looks like. you've got so many people eight, 100, 80,000 people who are forced to

evacuate, another 200,000 who are in evacuation warnings. still, what's also noteworthy is that we're getting alerts on our phones and they're buzzing and they're going off saying you're an evacuation zone, which, okay, right now i am. but one just went off. one of our team got it. two of us didn't get it yesterday. there was an alarm that went off about the kenneth fire, but it went to all of l.a. county. they immediately sent out a correction. all of this has people on end. so what? i'm what i would say is that for people who didn't even find themselves in this situation where they've lost their homes or they think they may have lost their homes, there's this overall just edginess that people are going through because of what we are seeing. people are skittish, people are jumpy throughout l.a. county now. for the people who live here, this is still an evacuation zone. the national guard is blocking off the roads. now. there's 8000 personnel, including firefighters, who are out here fighting these blazes and stopping people from looting because some people were

arrested for looting. at this time, when people are living through the worst days of their lives with all of this combined, the stress levels are high. people don't know what they've lost. but then for some other people, they do know what they've lost and that's a loved one. we only know of ten people now, but we're expecting that number to go up. i want you to take a listen to one woman who discovered her father. take a listen. >> this is where we've been our whole life. and my son tried to get him to leave. >> and my neighbors and myself. >> and he said, he'll be fine. i'll be here when you guys come back. and he said his house would be here. his house is here. and he was here, too. >> he was in his bed when i found him. >> i can't imagine discovering your loved one like that. what it feels like for these family members, some who may not know where their loved ones are. it is a devastating amount of loss

and pain in a short amount of time. and for a lot of people, this was their nest egg. this is something they bought years ago. this was their home. it was going to pay for their retirement. and now nothing. >> sarah, it's fun to hear her say that devastating information that she found her father dead in that home. it is a painful reminder of when firefighters say to get out, when people say to evacuate, that there is the possibility that you just don't make it. stephanie elam, we've been talking about the big one for 30 years, and we're always talking about the earthquake. the big one turned out in this case to be the fires. thank you so much for just walking us through all of this devastation. and i know you're hurting, too, as are all of our crews there, because our friends and families have been in danger for quite some time. kate. >> and fueling all of those flames, the winds, of course, firefighters have a narrow window. it it appears, of

calmer winds before they pick back up again. we'll have the forecast for you and also ahead for us. tick tock. heading to the supreme court next hour, taking on the u.s. ban that's about to set in against the social media platform. free speech versus national security is the central focus. the justices now left to decide, and we're going to get back to the historic day that is unfolding also in a new york courtroom. donald trump, to learn his. sentence. >> kobe believed in himself at the youngest possible age. >> it's one of the most remarkable stories in sports history. >> i don't want to be remembered as just a basketball player. >> kobe premieres january 25th on cnn. >> i thought we had a plan for dad. he was set to go to the senior living community right by my house. then a friend suggested i talk to a place for mom. they really opened my eyes. my advisor listened and

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stop taking and call your doctor right away if you have allergic reaction symptoms. serious side effects can include allergic reactions, some severe like anaphylaxis and liver problems. these are not all the possible side effects. so talk to your doctor if it's covid. >> paxlovid. ask your doctor today what do you got there, larry? >> time machine. you're going to go back and see how the pyramids were built or something. >> nope. ellen and i want to go on vacation, so i'm going to go back to last week and buy a winning lottery ticket. can i come? only room for one. >> how am i getting home? >> sitting on my lap like last time? ronald? >> fine. but i'm bringing this. >> all right. or you could try one of these savings options. >> the right money moves aren't as far fetched as you think. >> there it is. see, i told you it's going to all work out. thanks. future me for ben and erin. >> the work's never done. i'll never stop until the whole town is transformed. >> they know what they want. they don't know where to find it. we do. >> home town. all new sunday night

at eight on hgtv. >> i woke up and it was just pitch black. we had no power and i was just in hell. that's what it felt like. i was just surrounded by flames all around me. and all i could do was just hold my water hose and just. i dropped to my knees and i just started praying, please god, please just save my house. just save my house. this is this is all i have. >> how long? >> and i just prayed. one of my daughter's longtime friends, mother who passed away, who lives a block away from me and it's just devastating. it's i have no words to explain or to express the depth of hurt and pain that we're going through. >> that is one of so many devastating accounts that we are hearing coming out of southern california. so many people grieving for all that

has been lost this week, officials are saying that they are making some progress against the fires, but that the threat and the danger is very much not yet over. the winds are a huge part of that, of course. let's get to the latest forecast. meteorologist allison chinchar is back with us. and allison, what are you seeing in the forecast right now? >> all right. so there is a bit of good news. and that is we will have a very brief window. and i cannot emphasize how brief this is going to be, but a brief window where we will get those winds to die down a little bit and allow those firefighters to make some advancements on those containment numbers. today, we are still going to have those strong, gusty winds. that's why you've got the elevated and the critical fire threat existing for portions of southern california. but tomorrow that really starts to shrink back. and that's because the winds are expected to decrease over the next 24 hours. so for today, though, still 20 to 40mph, even a few that could be up around 50mph. but by late this afternoon and tonight, those wind speeds drop down to single digits in most places. that is fantastic news. that's what the firefighters

want to see, because it will allow them to be able to make some advancements in these fires. the one problem is, though, once we get to sunday, those numbers go right back up again 40, 50, even 60mph. so it's a very short window here where they will have that time to be able to improve those fires. and you can also see here it's also the direction that's important. these winds, these little wind barbs, the little white dots you see moving around. that's the wind direction for most of the day. today it will be coming from the north. but at some point it could shift to the west and it could shift to the east. and that makes it very difficult for the firefighters to because it can change at a moment's notice. and that kind of alters their plans that they may have set in place on how to fight the fires. so that also makes it very difficult for them. you've got the red flag warnings in effect for a large portion here of the coastal areas and mountainous regions of southern california. the air quality is also a concern because even as those winds go away, the smoke does not go away entirely, so that air quality is expected to stay relatively poor as we go

through the weekend. here's a look at some of the air quality index alerts. see these red dots? you can see here right outside of los angeles. that means it's in the unhealthy group. now oftentimes when you get smoke it will be unhealthy for sensitive groups say people with asthma or allergies or even the elderly folk. this is not the case. this is for any average adult that would be outside. you are going to start to have that where you cough, it burns the back of your throat, things like that. not just today guys, but even as we go through the weekend. >> yeah. alison, thank you very much for the forecast. we'll stick close to you. thanks, john. >> all right. we are standing by to see if the supreme court steps in to save tiktok in the united states. they hear arguments shortly after congress voted to ban tiktok in the united states. and nine days takes place in nine days unless it is sold by its chinese owners. the administration and this bipartisan majority in congress argue that the app poses a national security risk that china could collect vast amounts of sensitive and personal data. tiktok supporters say the ban violates their right to free speech.

>> all right, in minutes, president-elect donald trump will be sentenced in the new york hush money case. it's the first time a u.s. president will take office with a criminal conviction. what might he say in court? we could hear that. we will take a quick break and be back in just a bit. >> i lay on my back, frozen, thinking the darkest thoughts, and then everything changed, dana said. you're still you and i love you, super man. >> the christopher reeve story february 2nd on cnn. >> we are living with afib, and over half a million of us have left blood thinners behind for life. we've cut our stroke risk and said goodbye to our bleeding worry with the watchman implant watchman. it's one time for a lifetime. subway's got a new meal of the day with chips and a drink for just 6.99. >> or if you're big, hungry. make it a footlong for only $3 more. huh? big. hungry? is that a thing? >> that should be a thing.

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>> i'm a downloader right now. >> coming january 2025. >> founded by the stars of women's basketball, a new style of three on three six clubs. >> more action, more access, unrivaled. coming january 17th. breaking this moment. any moment now. we are going to have a sentencing hearing right here in manhattan. it's going to begin for the president elect, donald trump. and that

hush money case. he was found guilty of 34 counts, as you know, months ago. and we're now ten days from the inauguration when number 45 becomes number 47. he has fought to get the sentencing delayed tooth and nail. frankly, with all the legal angles. but yesterday, the supreme court denied his emergency bid. it was split 5 to 4. many call that a very narrow margin that they were surprised to hear. but here we are with these 34 counts of falsifying business records, all linked to his then lawyer, michael cohen, and adult film star stormy daniels in that infamous catch and kill story. joining us now again, cnn chief legal affairs correspondent paula reid and senior legal analyst elie honig. elie, a lot of people wonder what trump might say, but i have to tell you, i'm wondering what the judge is going to say about this very case. what do you expect to hear from him, given all the contempt, discussions and the treatment that trump has has bestowed upon judge merchan? >> well, laura judge merchan has already told us that he intends to sentence donald trump to an unconditional

discharge, meaning to nothing, essentially. but that's not because judge mershon thinks that this case is unworthy or unserious. in fact, to the contrary, if you look at what judge merchan says in that opinion and has said throughout this case, he sees this as a very serious case and a very valid charge, aggravated by the fact that, you know, thinking back that donald trump repeatedly violated the gag order and made other public comments that clearly are under the judge's skin. so i think when that moment comes today and it comes in every sentencing, when the judge pronounces sentence, i think he will say something like, i'm sentencing you to unconditional discharge. but that's largely because of your status as president elect and the fact that you're going to become president not ten days from now. but i also think the judge will deliver a tongue lashing of sorts. >> he also, of course, has to honor that. a jury was convened, impaneled and made this decision. it wasn't him on the bench alone. he has to honor that process in our american court system. paula, speaking of our court system,

the supreme judicial nine, right. this is all a category that trump has said as lawfare. he has been very, very annoyed, to say the least, about all the cases. he's tried to conflate a number of them. talk to me about why he is so angered about this entire category of cases, knowing that he has said the election made all of this he believes, obsolete. >> yeah, you can't underestimate how angry the president elect is about not only the hush money case, but all of the criminal cases that he has faced, even though his lawyers believe that they have effectively won here, like, yes, this solidifies his conviction, but he's getting away with, you know, as they told me, a punishment that is less than what you get for speeding in new york. if you look at the totality, i mean, trump believes and his lawyers believe as well, that he has been targeted by politically motivated prosecutions. i think we have to take these one by one. they can't all be lumped in when it comes to the new york case. you know, ellie and i have said this many times on air, there are some legitimate questions about why this case

was resurrected after so many years. is it because the district attorney was under political pressure? i mean, is this the case that you wanted to make history with the first time to prosecute a former president? intelligent minds can disagree, but a jury found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. but then when you extend that out to the federal cases brought by jack smith, i cannot tell you how angry trump's legal team is with the special counsel's team and the attorney general for how they have treated his client, their client. they believe that trump is a former president, should have been given more deference by the attorney general, both in the classified documents case and the january 6th case. they have a lot of very close, unusually personal beef with members of the special counsel. so we'll be looking for is once they're in power, remember, todd blanche is expected to be the number two official at the justice department. you know, how does this manifest once they are in power? but i can tell you, after almost a decade of covering trump's legal issues, he's never happy about it. but this is next level. >> yeah. speaking of todd

blanche and the president elect, they are both now apparently visible on screen. remember, he has been permitted to appear via zoom, the quintessential phoning it in. what an error. we're in where a president elect can appear via zoom, while president elect could be even sentenced for criminal charges in his native new york. he is wearing a dark suit. we're told he has a red tie. we can tell you that the audio portion of this sentencing will be available to the public at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, so we'll hope to bring that to you as soon as we have it to get the actual audio. the idea of being able to hear the president elect, if he speaks alone, the judge will be very important. i want to bring in cnn's anchor, kaitlan collins. caitlin, let's enfold you in this mix here, because you know full well from your reporting over the years as well, how much these cases have gotten under the skin of the president elect. but we've had this major election. he has said that the people don't care about what has happened that they did, not that they factored it in, and

they were dismissive of it compared to the mandate he believes he's gotten. what are you hearing from the trump camp about why this one continues to be that that that particular irritant? >> yeah, i mean, they have a point in terms of arguing that because, i mean, you're looking at this courtroom here. you know, i was in that courtroom a lot during the actual trial when this was when this was going on. this sentencing was initially supposed to happen back in july. and trump's tactics of delay, delay, delay worked. that's why we're not here until january where this is happening. and he's not even having to be present. he's appearing virtually, as you noted, from from his mar a lago club. and the way the trump team is viewing this in a political sense is, well, he was convicted and this happened. and that happened months before voters went to the polls. and yet still they elected him and they put him into office. but i can tell you, you know, that's how they're viewing it in a political sense of whether or not people are concerned about this or watching this closely. but in terms of what the last few months have looked like, we're hearing right now, caitlin, that the judge is on

the bench. >> we're hearing it now. the judge is on the bench. he's getting ready to discuss the sentencing. go ahead yeah. >> well, the key thing to watch with that judge is obviously we expect to hear from prosecutors and from the defense. does trump himself speak before the judge brings down his final sentencing here? that is something that we have not gotten an answer on. we've spoken to people. it's not even totally clear that that they know if trump is going to want to speak, but that is going to be something key to watch, because obviously, judge juan merchan has been one of the biggest sources of irritants for for donald trump. and what i was saying is since the election, he has been in an incredibly good mood, laura. but it has been watching this and dealing with this and the jack smith report, that is, we believe, imminent and expected to come out in a matter of days. as the judge here is greeting donald trump, as he did every single day during his trial. it's just something to watch, as trump has been so fed up with this judge. but when i was in that courtroom, you know, you watch the judge kind of bend over backwards to actually be accommodating to donald trump when you're there in the room in person. he was

very respectful to him and certainly went out of his way. i mean, he's letting him appear virtually for this hearing, which, as we know, speaks to to how he's handling all of this and, of course, you know the idea. >> good morning, mr. trump. and of course, attorney blanch confirming that he and trump are indeed appearing virtually from florida. this signal that he already came down to allow him to appear virtually, signaling, of course, caitlin that he does not necessarily intend to impose a jail sentence, which would be normal for maybe a class c felony in new york, or also even to have a probationary period or a fine that largely likely greased the wheel for the supreme court to then say, we're not going to prevent what will ultimately be perhaps a tongue lashing, but a punitive slap on the wrist. we're going to be wanting to see if we're going to hear from either of them. of course, you know, todd blanche, as you know, is going to have a pretty important role in the department of justice in about ten days time or so. and of course, they're telling him

where they are. but but, blanche, having this role right now beside trump, his success in that trial, even though it was a it was actually a conviction. his successful performance, according to trump, is what put him in a position to now be the number two at doj. >> well, basically, all of trump's attorneys are going to work in the white house. i was thinking about this the other day. who is going to be representing trump in a personal sense once he's in the white house? because it's not just todd blanche, it's emil bove who is the attorney? i believe in the courtroom this morning, it's john sauer, it's will schaaf. um, it's his his white house counsel is also david warrington. is his current campaign counsel. i mean, essentially all of the attorneys who are working with donald trump and around him are going into the administration at this point from right now. >> and, caitlin, i'm noticing here that blanche todd blanche has confirmed that he received a copy of the probation report this morning for the audience to understand when somebody is sentenced between the actual verdict and the actual

sentencing date, there is a compilation of information about the defendant, either through community reporting, people who want to vouch for him to issue things on his behalf. sometimes if there is a victim, they want to be able to provide a victim impact statement. how they have decided or viewed their own role in this. any remorse that might be demonstrated, any individual things. if there was a mental health treatment plan or of course, a drug treatment plan, all these things would be taken into account. in a normal case. here we have a probation report that would have been provided, of course, not only to the judge to review in his decision, ultimately to weigh the factors and now rule. but now the attorneys also have a copy of it. you can only imagine what was in that probation report. the man was campaigning for the presidency in that time. he certainly caitlin was not silent about his views about how this case went. so no expectation whatsoever of a demonstration of remorse in that probation report. >> yeah. and i think as they're viewing this, you know, with

this actually being the one of all of the legal challenges against donald trump that has gone forward here out of the jack smith cases that they spent months working on, whether it's classified documents or election interference, this is the one that has gotten the furthest, which is likely why it's the one that irks trump the most. as you see, as he was approaching the sentencing and they're not worried about what judge merchan is about to hand down, but it does make trump the first convicted felon to be sworn in as president in just a few days from now here in washington, and you see mershone, you know, asking these prosecutors who have been working on this case, who were in that courtroom every day, if they want to put anything to that report, you know, it just is bringing to a close that that saga. and it's just personally frustrating from what we've heard to donald trump as the fact that he is going to be the first convicted felon sworn in as president and is something that is, you know, out of all of the success he's had since the election and focusing on what round two is going to look like, this is the one thing that, when you talk to people, has made him angry.

>> and of course, we're knowing that the prosecutor, joshua steinglass, is asking for more time to read the probation report. they hadn't seen a copy of it. todd blanche had already seen it. they want to have more, but nothing. nothing to add to the record. we should note. of course, the prosecution seems to be in line with the idea of an unconditional discharge, a way of saying that it's going to be a slap on the wrist. and now the judge saying, let's impose sentence, please, everyone stand by. because what's going to happen? we're going to hear finally, whether or not the judge will issue a sentence as he has stated, he would, not having a jail in position or even a fine or a probation. you have the prosecutor, josh steinglass up. trump, we're told, is staring straight ahead as his attorneys are making the case. this is a very different vibe than we saw when we were in the courtroom at the trial, where there was a wait very apparent in that room on the shoulders of then candidate donald trump and former president. but now the question

will be to what extent this judge is going to take into account the contempt allegations, the contempt confirmations that were happening during the course of the trial, to what extent he will discuss the jury system in america that said that there were these 12 jurors who were going to decide ultimately, the fate based on the information that they received and the burden of proof that they felt the prosecutors weighed. trump and blanch are appearing on the feed. it happens to be muted. so we're not going to be able to have the real time response. but there is an opportunity often for a defendant to have a say. the final word, of course, will go to the judge and remember, one of the reasons you want to have the so-called finality of a sentence. we've been using the term convicted felon for quite some time. after the jury found him guilty. of those 34 counts, but it's not a complete and total conviction to the point of the finality of the trial court level until a sentence is handed down. and then you know

what happens. you can do a full appeal, a full appellate review of your case. trump wants to do that. he does not believe that one, this case should have been brought, that it should have been resurrected in the same way, based on the allegations before the the prosecution is recommending an unconditional discharge, meaning that there won't be that probationary period that most people will have when you have to sometimes submit you're in analysis or meet with the probation officer, have requirements about jobs, requirements about community service. if you somehow violate the terms of your probation or any imposition of a restraining order, you might face jail time and other consequences. they're saying that they agree with an unconditional discharge. this is no surprise. let's go to you on this point, because we knew that the judge was signaling that very point. but now the prosecution are in lock. what will that mean for the judge? >> yeah. so it is unusual, first of all, so people understand to see a sentencing happening remotely, the rules,

the laws usually require that a person be physically present in the courtroom. but the judge has made this accommodation. now, again, the prosecution has agreed that the sentence should be an unconditional discharge. but i think what's about to follow now is the prosecution is going to make clear we're agreeing to that unconditional discharge only because he's about to take office as the president. and i think what we're going to see is something we've heard from the prosecutors throughout here. i see steinglass the da is saying the jury's verdict in this case was unanimous and decisive, and it must be respected. i think that's exactly the theme. the prosecution is going to sound, which is this was a valid case. this was a case that was tried fairly to a jury of 12 of 12 civilians in manhattan. they unanimously found donald trump guilty. and the d.a .'s office has backed this verdict. they've backed this prosecution strenuously throughout their filings. so i think that's a theme we're going to see from the d.a. and also, i think we'll hear the judge echo that later on in this proceeding. >> and paul, at that point before during jury selection,

there was a real concern that trump had of political bias, not just on the part of the judge, but by those people who might be potential jurors. in this case. we now, of course, know there's political conversations happening, legal challenges that will be raised about the ability to have brought this case according to the current statutes. but for the jury's perspective, they had the evidence in front of them. they believed a burden of proof was met. the judge wants to look at that, as do prosecutors. and of course, steinglass is now listing off a bunch of things, by the way, that trump has done post sentencing to undermine that very verdict. >> paula. yeah, this is this is definitely an opportunity for prosecutors to once again defend their case that has come under enormous scrutiny. they tried to reframe this. we refer to it as a hush money case. they tried to reframe it as an election interference case, arguing that the allegations here were part of an effort to deprive voters of information they wanted to elevate this case after it came under really a lot of criticism, and now it's coming under scrutiny in

the courts because the laws have changed since this conviction. the supreme court has ruled that not only can presidents not be charged for official acts, you also can't use official acts to support or to prove other charges. and that is the piece of the supreme court opinion that trump's lawyers are leaning into to try to get this conviction overturned. now, steinglass is saying that trump has been far from expressing any kind of remorse for his criminal conduct. but this is important because we saw last night something that was really considered a long shot. having the supreme court weigh in at this early juncture to block the sentencing, trump got four conservative justices to agree with him. he only needs one more to agree with him that their immunity ruling should mean this conviction is overturned. to have this whole case upended. now, the prosecutor also telling the court trump has been unrelenting in his unsubstantiated attacks on the court. this is, of course, something we've seen throughout this trial, but it was expected, the defense team expected, that prosecutors would use this time to defend

their case and likely attack the defendant. >> and, caitlin, you know, you're seeing what the reaction of trump is. he's visible on zoom in this proceeding. he's leaning back, apparently shaking his head. there's even a moment that steinglass the prosecutor in this case, arguing in this moment is saying that he tried to encourage others to reject the jury verdict. >> yeah, they're saying he has been nothing but or nothing like remorseful since that sentencing came down. and pointing to what the judge himself has said, trying to use the judge's own words here about that being a hack on the rule of law itself. i mean, the judge is fully aware of everything the prosecutors are saying right now because he has faced almost the most blistering criticism from donald trump, in addition to the district attorney, alvin bragg here, and these prosecutors that trump has gone after repeatedly. the judge knows all of this very well. and so that is something to watch, is how the judge articulates this and what he says here. but, i mean, he has been the one who issued his ruling, who has been, you know,

responding to trump's attorneys saying, you are just trying to delay this. this was supposed to happen back in july. it's now happening now in january. so when part of their complaint in recent weeks was that he can't be sentenced right before he's about to take office, that he is busy, that he has other things to do. i mean, this was supposed to happen six months ago. and so that is something that the judge himself has noted in his rulings here as they've been moving forward. the prosecutor, citing chief justice john roberts. we'll see. you know, trump's one thing that stood out to me last night was trump responded in real time to that supreme court decision to let this move forward today. as paula noted, they're a very close one. it very well could have not happened. had amy coney barrett decided a different way. trump was not that angry with the supreme court. he said he understood their decision because they were saying, you know, he has an avenue of appeal here and instead was saying, i'm just going to appeal this anyway. so one thing that is notable coming out of this, once the sentencing does come down, trump can start that appeals process in earnest. and so that is something to to watch here

as he's moving forward. >> ellie, the defendant, he the judge josh steinglass is arguing the defendant has caused enduring damage to the public perception of the criminal justice system. he's also citing chief justice roberts. presumably, i would assume, in part based on the official acts and discussion. one argument that that trump had made in the past through his counsel was that the supreme court's decision on immunity would also have applied to the behavior that he was alleged to have had, and also the conduct of a president elect. can you talk to me a little bit about the supreme court's being invoked in this instance, knowing the role that chief justice roberts played just yesterday as a part of that majority opinion? >> yeah, i'd be interested to see the exact context of the citation to chief justice roberts. keep in mind, chief justice roberts has made a lot of public statements about the need for respect for the process, and that's really the theme that the d.a. is sounding right now. it's interesting because the d.a. has opened his

remarks not by talking about the hush money payments, the falsification of business records, but by talking about donald trump's out of court conduct, his tweets, his comments outside the courthouse. and here we see the the prosecutor continues to sound this theme about donald trump's open disrespect for the process. steinglass acknowledges that any other conditional discharge has the potential to interfere with trump's obligations. so what the prosecutor is saying here is any sentence other than nothing conditional discharge could get in the way of him becoming president. so, so far, the focus of the d.a. has been on trump's conduct beyond the hush money payment. i suspect they'll get to that soon. well. >> and a huge note here steinglass is noting we all remember this phrase being used, of course, and how prevalent it has been. steinglass noting that the probation officer who interviewed trump for the probation report wrote that trump believed that he was, quote, above the law. now, this is monumental to think about because, again, people at home, understanding the process of what's going on once you are

convicted of a crime or have the jury verdict, there's a period of time from which you are interviewed by a probation officer who will get a sense for the judge and be the liaison to the judge to determine what the appropriate sentence would be. are they remorseful? what do they have to say about the process? are there community standards or community statements being made for this to be written? this is a really important statement that the judge will likely consider, even though he's already shown his hand about how he views the conditional and unconditional discharge here. >> yeah, and look, this is not wrong. after a decade of covering trump's legal issues, it is fair to say that in many instances, he believes he is not. he is either above the law or somehow protected by the law. and again, since the conviction in this case, the law has changed and given him at least some ground to stand on, to argue that there are parts of this case, evidence that was brought in, that the supreme court now says could potentially be official acts and may have to be tossed out.

now, the prosecutor is is saying that a sentence of unconditional discharge preserves trump's status as a convicted felon while he pursues his appeals. but i will also note, in the federal cases that trump is facing, he didn't say, look, no laws apply to me. he just said, i am in a different status because i am a former president when it comes to the classified documents case, he believes the attorney general should have allowed him to come in and speak to him one on one. he believes that he occupies again, a different status than the average citizen and should be treated differently. the justice department, also the manhattan da, formerly the georgia prosecutor, didn't see it that way. can you tell me what? >> well, caitlin todd blanche is now up. he's saying i very much disagree with much of what the government just said about this case. the idea of governing and the ability to govern with this label overhead, convicted felon is one that has gotten under the craw of the president elect. although there

are arguments to be made that this case would not interfere with his ability to govern, given there would be no probation, presumably no jail time, or even a fine which would be virtually minimal. trump looking wild plant is speaking next to him, not reacting to what his attorney is saying, but the idea of governing. why is this continuing to be part of the discussion that the trump team will likely argue that they're unable to govern with that label of convicted felon? >> well, they're just arguing that essentially none of this should be happening, that they should not be here as part of the sentencing right now. this is what they argued against, not only delaying it. i mean, they wanted to delay it. in effect past january 20th, to where it wouldn't have to to occur. even that was really what trump wanted here was for this to not happen at all. and so now that they're in the room, that was a legal argument that they have been making ever since he was elected and won the election in november, saying that he's too busy doing this, that he couldn't attend today's hearing. that's why he's appearing virtually via zoom from mar-a-lago. he was

just here in washington yesterday for former president carter's funeral. i think once they get past this and what trump's attorneys have also tried to argue to him and kind of not just his attorneys view, but the view inside his orbit, is that, as paula was noting earlier this morning, this is probably the best case scenario in this situation. when they came here, you know, after sitting through every day of that trial and then how quickly that guilty verdict came down, they were arguing that from what happened last may to where they are now, that this is one of the best outcomes that donald trump could have gotten here. now, does that mean he's not angry about having to sit here for a zoom appearance in front of the judge that he has belittled and criticized at length? no, but but they're looking at this and noting that they do intend to appeal this. it is a question of who is going to be appealing this. once donald trump is in office and all of his attorneys presumably are working inside the government, but they are continuing to argue against just the merits of this case. overall. >> and ali, there, blanche, is saying that a majority of the

american people should agree or also agree. excuse me, that this case should not have been brought. and one of his arguments is that all of what the government is saying is presupposing the legality and legitimacy of having been able to bring this action. you yourself have been critical about evaluating whether this case, under the statutory. premise, should actually have been brought. this is what, of course, the court had he saying. it's a very sad day and trump is now speaking. we are waiting to see what he had to say. remember, we will have the audio of this. the judge ordered to have it be essentially silenced until after the conclusion of the sentencing. but his attorney teeing him up, saying that it's a very sad day for president trump, for his family and continuing with his viewpoints about what this would mean and portend. ellie, the idea of a now defendant, somebody who had had a guilty verdict issued. this is not novel. we often expect to hear

from the defendant, but this moment is historic. >> yeah. so i'm eager to see what. here we go. donald trump begins by saying this has been a very terrible experience and a setback for the new york court system. as you say, laura, in any sentencing, the defendant has the option to address the court. sometimes defendants choose not to do that, especially if they're intending to appeal. but clearly, donald trump is speaking now. he is going to be it sounds like so far he's being characteristically aggressive. he says this has been a terrible experience, a setback for the new york court system. and as you said, this is sort of the fundamental disagreement here. the d.a. and the judge will agree with the d.a. who said this was a righteous case. no man is above the law, but todd blanche his argument that he made that. it sounds like trump is is echoing. and here trump says this is the case that alvin bragg did not want to bring, is that this case should never have been brought, that it was politically motivated. what trump is referring to there. this is a case that alvin bragg did not want to bring. that's not true. alvin bragg declined to bring a separate case, but

alvin bragg chose to bring this case. and i see trump now says of the da quote, he thought it was from what i read and from what i heard, inappropriately handled before he got there. trump is sort of mish mashing several different stories in his head because there was a separate investigation of a separate crime that alvin bragg, when he took office in 2022, declined to charge. but that had to do with with donald trump's finances. this hush money case is a case. look, i disagree with the decision, but alvin bragg made the decision to bring this case. and obviously he and his office, the manhattan da's office, stands behind it. i see trump said, quote, he said i was falsifying business records, falsification of business records. that is the underlying charge here. the hush money payments are at the core of this case. the falsification is the actual crime. >> and artifacts. we're hearing a lot of what he's saying in the halls of the court. after each proceeding or during the breaks. he was always very, very steadfast in his belief

that these were attorney's expenses, that this was not a cooking of the books, that this was overblown. he's going after the indictment and the charges after. he chose, of course, not to testify in the trial. and here he is describing again, the legal fees were put down as legal expenses. he's always thought this was odd. we're going to hear more from what the president elect, soon to be president is saying at his own sentencing in his hometown of manhattan. >> do you have subscriptions that are forgotten or even hidden? >> see and cancel them all and cancel them all in one place with experian. >> oh, download the app and see how much you can. >> i have type two diabetes, but i manage it well. it's a little pill with a big story to tell. i take once daily jardiance at each day. >> start. as time went on it

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