back with me now is laura jarrett. and also joining us is our nbc news legal analyst danny cevallos. danny, let me bring you in here real quick and talk about the team will most certainly appeal. how will that appeal process look like for mr. trump? >> as is usual, in most jurisdictions, he will have 30 days from the date of sentence. not 30 days from today. 30 days from the imposition of the sentence in which to appeal. he surely will. then it will go to the appellate division, which is the intermediate appellate court in new york. and then they will set a briefing schedule. that will take months, if not years. >> it's a long process. laura, let me turn to you for a moment. this was just one of four different criminal cases we've been watching against the former president. talk through where the other cases stand, if we'll likely see another trial before the election. >> reporter: lester, it's only one of four, but it may be the only one to see completion before the november election. the others have been bogged down

have it all covered for you on this historic night, beginning with senior legal correspondent laura jarrett. laura, a historic night in court. >> reporter: indeed, lester. one simple word, "guilty," repeated over and over and over and over. 34 times, those simple words something that happens every day in courtrooms across america. but this time was different. this time about the current presumptive gop nominee, a former american president, something we've never seen before. those ladies and gentlemen of the jury, 12 members from everyday walks of life in new york city, we had a salesman, the foreman, two lawyers. we had someone who was a physical therapist, a speech therapist, all walks of life coming together for a unanimous verdict today, lester. >> this all occurred when we thought that the jury was about to retire for the evening and come back tomorrow. the court very much caught off guard, it appeared. >> reporter: lester, it had, because we were really not certain we would see the verdict at all. the judge obviously wanted to accommodate that schedule, to do as much as they could. her

. >>> finally tonight, as we mark this moment, let's go back to senior legal correspondent laura jarrett. laura, you were inside the courtroom. take us through your experience watching all this unfold. >> yes, lester, more than 22 days, it's really a surreal experience from the very first day that i walked on to that 15 floor courtroom in front of judge merchan. we've all covered high criminal profiles. trials. this is different. this was the former president of the united states, the current presumptive gop nominee, facing 12 everyday new yorkers told not to be bias while he is currently running for office. this is an experience that i am not likely to forget any time soon, likely the country not to forget any time soon, changed from this moment

laura jarrett joins us. laura, what did the court say? >> well, lester, the court has now given mr. trump permission to appeal that decision from march that kept the d.a. on the case but prompted her to remove nathan wade, her ex-boyfriend, who had led the prosecution. now, mr. trump still wants the d.a. disqualified, so this appeal will slow down the georgia case considerably with the d.c. election interference case still in limbo, and the florida classified documents trial now indefinitely on hold, all of it making it all but uncertain the hush money trial will be the only case done by november, and

laura jarrett. you have judge juan merchan. you have the witness stand to the left of judge juan merchan, if he's looking out to the courtroom. then to the left of that witness stand is the jury box. there's 12 jurors. this is a jury who has been very focused in on the judge, who seems to respect this judge, who follows his lead as well. throughout these jury instructions being given, this jury is taking notes it seems for the most part throughout these jury instructions, and again, just a reminder. i know i've said this at the top of the show, i know you've talked about it repeatedly. any questions they have throughout these deliberations, they can ask the judge in which the judge will call in the prosecution and the defense to answer these questions, depending on what the question is about. they are in fact taking notes. they are tuned in despite the fact they had a very long day yesterday with about 30 minutes to go with these jury instructions, guys. >> and please keep us posted. i'll read right now they just mentioned mich

laura jarrett reports. >> reporter: tonight, the defense resting its case with former president trump choosing not to take the stand in his first criminal trial. jurors left today hearing only from robert costello, a lawyer who briefly advised michael cohen. prosecutors today again trying to paint costello is a trump-allied emissary dispatched by rudy giuliani to prevent cohen from flipping on mr. trump. confronted with emails suggesting he was frustrated. cohen refused to hire him, including one where he wrote, quote, cohen, quote, continues to slow play us and the president. is he totally nuts? he is playing with the most powerful man on the planet. costello suggested monday cohen's entire story, that trump plotted to protect his stormy daniels to protect his campaign was all a lie. telling jurors that michael cohen said numerous times that president trump knew nothing about those payments, and that cohen said he did this on his own. costello only one of two witnesses called by the defense team. the testimony all told running just over 90 minutes. >> there is no crime. there is no c

laura jarrett has the latest. >> reporter: former president trump arriving at court today, watching his defense team go on offense, casting a key prosecution witness is out to extort him for money. the defense hoping to discredit keith davidson, the lawyer who negotiated payoffs for stormy daniels and karen mcdougal. both threatened to go public of stories of sex with mr. trump ahead of the 2016 election. mr. trump has denied the allegations of both women, and denied any advanced knowledge of the payoff. his defense team suggesting today that davidson had a habit of shaking down celebrities, like charlie sheen for money. davidson saying he never extorted anyone, testifying at lengths about his negotiations with mr. cohen, mr. trump's former attorney. but today saying he never met nor spoke to the former president. instead, he dealt exclusively with cohen, who he painted as desperate and despondent, that then president-elect trump would not make him attorney general or white house chief of staff. describing a phone call where cohen lamented -- "i can't believe i'm not going to washington

senior legal correspondent laura jarrett has the latest. >> reporter: tonight, nbc news learning from multiple sources prosecutors will call their star witness, michael cohen, on monday. he called himself donald trump's fixer. now a vocal trump critic. cohen unleashing on his old boss in his book and on social media spotted online this week wearing a t-shirt depicting mr. trump behind bars. the judge today directing prosecutors to inform cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any statements about the case or mr. trump, but not placing a gag order on cohen. mr. trump remains under one barring him from attacking witnesses and the jury. >> it's a disgrace. it's not a case. there's no crime. there is no crime, and they've failed to show a crime. >> reporter: cohen, a critical witness for the prosecution, as the jury has now read his text messages, heard his voice, and seen evidence that he paid stormy daniels $130,000 just days before the 2016 election so she couldn't derail the campaign. the defense says her story of sex with mr. trump was false, a shakedown for money

laura jarrett with more on today's legal fireworks. >> reporter: tonight former president trump's defense team launching a fiery start to its case, taking direct aim at the credibility of star prosecution witness michael cohen, calling robert costello, a former federal prosecutor and attorney for rudy giuliani, who advised cohen before a falling out. costello describing cohen as, quote, manic at a 2018 meeting after cohen's home and office were raided by the fbi. while cohen is now implicating mr. trump in an alleged crime, costello testifying cohen told him back then, "i swear to god, bob, i don't have anything on donald trump." directly refuting cohen's testimony that mr. trump directed him to pay off stormy daniels before the 2016 election. "michael cohen said numerous times that president trump knew nothing about those payments and that he did this on his own," costello testifying. the judge repeatedly sustaining prosecution objections leading to a heated scolding of costello after he audibly muttered "ridiculous" and "jeez." the judge at one point saying, "are you staring me down?" a

senior legal correspondent laura jarrett has the latest. >> reporter: tonight, jury deliberations wrapping up for the day in former president trump's hush money case. the first trial of an american president. seven men and five women deliberating for roughly 4 1/2 hours after sitting through more than an hour of complex instructions from the judge, who told the manhattan jury to set aside any bias for or against mr. trump and to not ignore any evidence simply because you want the trial to end. judge juan merchan walking jurors through each of the 34 counts mr. trump faces for allegedly falsifying his business records to cover up michael cohen's payoff of a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election, which mr. trump denies. the charge, normally a misdemeanor, raised to a low-level felony here because prosecutors argue they allegedly doctored records that were meant to cover up another crime, in this case a conspiracy to promote mr. trump's candidacy in 2016 through, quote, unlawful means. at trial prosecutors raised possible violations of multiple other laws that could qualify as those unlaw

but first, laura jarrett on the big day in court for stormy daniels. >> reporter: tonight, donald trump seated just ten feet away as the woman at the center of his hush money cover-up trial, stormy daniels, testified in vivid detail about their alleged sexual encounter nearly two decades ago that prosecutors say he was desperate to hide from voters before the 2016 election. the adult film actress speaking quickly at times, looking directly at the jury, recounting how she first met mr. trump at a celebrity golf tournament in lake tahoe in 2006 and went up to a hotel suite where the pair ultimately had sex, which mr. trump says never happened. >> mr. trump, how's it going in there? >> did stormy get you? >> reporter: she told the jury she was not threatened and wasn't drugged, but her testimony about an imbalance of power and blacking out during the alleged encounter prompting the defense team to ask the judge to declare a mistrial, arguing the lurid details were only meant to embarrass the presumptive gop nominee, saying the testimony is impossible to come back from. the judge refusing t

once again, laura jarrett leads our coverage. >> reporter: tonight, star prosecution witness michael cohen facing a scathing second day of cross-examination as former president trump's defense team tries to paint him as a spurned former employee, desperate for payback. >> i truly [ bleep ] hope that this man ends up in prison. >> reporter: the jury hearing cohen on his podcast, appearing in search of vengeance. >> revenge is a dish best served cold, and you better believe i want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to me and my family. >> reporter: tension in the room building to a dramatic moment. trump attorney todd blanche accusing cohen of lying about a key part of his testimony. just two days ago, cohen telling the jury unequivocally that mr. trump's bodyguard keith schiller passed the phone to mr. trump on october 24th, 2016 at 8:02 p.m. cohen says he informed mr. trump at the time the deal to pay off stormy daniels would be done. blanche today raising his voice, saying that was a lie. showing the jury never before seen text messages, suggesting the call was for a

laura jarrett on one of the most dramatic days in the trial so far. >> reporter: tonight trump's defense team tearing into the prosecution's star witness, suggesting mr. trump's self-described fixer turned fierce trump critic michael cohen is out for revenge on his former boss. "do you want president trump to get convicted in this case?" trump attorney todd blanche asking? "sure," cohen acknowledged. cohen confirming he recently said the former president belongs in a cage, like an animal. the defense trying to cast cohen as motivated to lie, that he previously fed prosecutors dirt on mr. trump to get out of prison early, and that now his financial livelihood, including media appearances and podcasts centers on trashing mr. trump. cohen acknowledging he has made more than $3 million off his books, "disloyal" and "revenge," and that he had been going on tiktok six days a week to slam his former employer. quote at that time i was knee-deep into the cult of donald trump. the defense getting cohen to admit he previously described himself as obsessed with mr. trump, insinuating he was jilted o

laura jarrett was in court today. >> reporter: tonight, the first trial of an american president soonthe hands of seven men and five women. prosecutors closing their case, arguing former president trump orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 election to pull the wool over voters' eyes, they say, by ordering the payoff of stormy daniels and then covering it all up. prosecutor joshua steinglass trying to establish a pattern of mr. trump baring damaging stories that could derail his 2016 campaign, pointing to a key conversation secretly recorded by mr. trump's then attorney michael cohen, the star prosecution witness, where mr. trump discussed an alleged payoff of a different woman. steinglass calling it jaw-dropping. >> funding, yes. and it's all the stuff. >> reporter: but much of closings today focused on the credibility of cohen. quote, we didn't pick him up at the witness store. the defendant chose michael cohen, steinglass said, acknowledging cohen's criminal history and admitted lies under oath, but telling jurors you don't need michael cohen to connect these dot

laura jarrett breaks down the day in court. >> reporter: tonight a highly anticipated courtroom showdown. prosecutors' star witness michael cohen, former president trump's self-described fixer turned fierce critic, telling the jury mr. trump directed him to pay off an adult film actress days before the 2016 election to protect his campaign. >> is michael cohen a liar? >> reporter: everything required mr. trump's sign-off, cohen told the jury, testifying mr. trump was furious in 2016 when he learned stormy daniels was still trying to sell her story of sex with the former president, telling cohen, "i thought you had this under control." cohen explaining he'd managed to suppress daniels' story years before but it resurfaced on the heels of the "access hollywood" tape and cohen feared if daniels went public it would be, quote, catastrophic for the campaign, saying mr. trump told him "just take care of it. this is a disaster. women are going to hate me. guys may think this is cool but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign." cohen said mr. trump told him he met daniels at a golf tour

laura jarrett was in the courthouse today where trump lawyers once again asked that the case be dismissed. >> reporter: tonight, stormy daniels leaving court after a blistering cross-examination. former president trump's defense team suggesting she's been trying to cash in on her story of sex with mr. trump at a celebrity golf tournament 18 years ago, which he denies ever happened. the defense today accusing daniels of lying. trump attorney susan necklace hammering daniels' years of acting and directing in the porn industry saying it gave her, quote, a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear real. daniels fighting back, that if the trump story was untrue, i would have ridden it a lot better. their exchanges growing heated. "you've acted and had sex in over 200 porn movies. but according to you seeing a man sitting in bed in a t-shirt and boxer shorts was so upsetting that you almost fainted?" daniels defiant, noting mr. trump was twice her age and bigger. necklace saying you made this up , right? daniels forcefully responding no. necklace pressing, your story has comple

we're also joined by our senior legal correspondent laura jarrett and had a day to absorb all this. where does it go from here? >> a lot of focus on the gag order, that's the one that bars him from attacking witnesses and others. the judge has not lifted that order even though the trial is over, and while a verdict came swiftly, any appeal likely taking months, if not more, to resolve. 24 hours after the historic verdict, a vow to challenge it. >> we're going to be appealing this scam. we're going to be appealing it on many different things. >> reporter: former president trump's attorney, todd blanche, telling nbc's savannah guthrie he's confident they'll win on appeal, arguing the case was doomed from the start pointing to the jury pool in deep blue manhattan. >> we didn't think we were going to get a fair shake in manhattan, and we didn't. >> reporter: blanche today also taking aim at judge juan merchan for not recusing himself. merchan contributed $15 to president biden's 2020 campaign, and his daughter is a democratic political consultant. >> we felt very strongly that there was

>> laura jarrett in lower manhattan. thank you. >>> in the middle east israel is now battling hamas militants that have regrouped in northern gaza. meanwhile, 360,000 people have fled rafah in the south. richard engel is in israel with more. >> reporter: israel thought it had defeated hamas in northern gaza. but the militants have regrouped and are now fighting from the rubble. once the government of gaza that triggered a war when they stormed into israel and carried out a massacre, hamas has become an insurgency. and as the united states learned in afghanistan and iraq, insurgencies can last for decades. in southern gaza israel is expanding military operations in rafah despite warnings from president biden about the risk to civilians. israel claims hamas has four battalions of fighters in rafah and has ordered the evacuation of large sections of the city. the u.n. says around 360,000 people have already left. for most it's not the first time. >> that's the sixth time i evacuate from anywhere i was in. i feel so lost. >>

laura jarrett, nbc news. >>> there is much more to tell you about tonight.g up, a suspected isis member who crossed the border and lived freely in this country. how could it happen next. coming up, a suspected isis member that crossed the border and lived freely in this country. how could it happen next. feeling ughh from a backed up gut? ughh. miralax works naturally with the water in your body to help you go. free your gut and your mood will follow. for 8 grams of fiber, try mirafiber gummies. sometimes your work shirt needs to be for more than just work. like when it needs to be a big, soft shoulder to cry on. which is why downy does more to make clothes softer, fresher, and better. downy. breathe life into your laundry. (angie) tobacco companies target people like me with their menthol cigarette marketing. realizing this made me angry enough to quit. my tip is, this should make everyone angry. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. ♪ limu emu ♪ ♪ and doug ♪ hello, ghostbusters. it's doug... ... of doug and limu. we help people cust

laura jarrett, thanks. >>> much of the world has been holding its collective breath in the hours since learning of the death of iran's president ebrahim raisi in a helicopter crash. keir simmons reports on a potentially destabilizing moment. >> reporter: tonight the wreckage of the fiery crash that killed iran's president and its foreign minister in a region already rocked by instability and war. tv crews reaching the remote scene today. the hard-line leader of america's long-standing adversary dead suddenly and, it seems, by accident. today in the streets of tehran men openly wept for president raisi, seen as the potential successor to iran's aging supreme leader. at some iranian embassies in the west opponents celebrated. the u.s. tonight says there are no signs of outside interference and saying iran's government reached out for help during the rescue efforts. >> ultimately largely for logistical reasons we weren't able to provide that assistance. >> reporter: raisi described today as a friend by fellow presidents putin and xi. hamas sending its sympathies. since the october 7th ter

laura jarrett, thank you.was a chaotic scene outside the courthouse with the biden campaign holding its first event there, including an appearance by a hollywood star. gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> by yelling and intimidating. you're not going intimidate. >> reporter: outside the manhattan courthouse, the drama took another tumultuous twist. that's actor robert de niro in a different role, surrogate for the biden campaign, clashing with pro-trump protesters. >> trying to be gentlemen in this world, democrats. you are gangsters. you are gangsters. >> you're washed up. >> reporter: also on hand, first responders who were at the capitol on january 6th. >> donald trump is the greatest threat to our democracy. >> reporter: this event a sharp change for the biden campaign, which has largely avoided the trial since it began six weeks ago. >> if trump returns to the white house, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted. >> reporter: with many democrats nervous about the state of the race le

laura jarrett, thanks. >>> tonight, there is more dangerous weather ahead after a string of reported tornadoes hit the plains, including an ef-4 in the same city that was hit by a tornado just a month ago. sam brock now with the unfolding dangerous weather situation. >> we need to go to the basement. grab the dogs. >> reporter: tonight, the spate of severe weather sprawling across the country has expanded to the midwest, with michigan in the midst of a tornado emergency. >> this is right where they came through. >> reporter: damage already seen, as the state faces several possible twisters. barnsdall, oklahoma, tonight is a sight that won't easily be forgotten. homes twirled in to speckles of wood and mangled metal after a vicious tornado tore through the city of 1,400. >> we need a lot of prayers. >> reporter: claiming one life and prompting hours of search for a missing person. yet the sheer force of mother nature -- how did you survive? >> i guess the good lord. >> reporter: countered by the resolve of residents like carl killey, who used his body to shield his 80-year-old mother.

i have some information on that, laura jarrett, about six minutes ago, seven minutes ago said that the level of engagement is about the same as it's been all day but she does note some sleepy heads, this particular line of argument, the karen mcdougal stuff is not striking as particularly compelling in the room. how does josh steinglass address that, adjust? >> well, i think honestly we're coming up to the afternoon break time, and the fact that you've got jurors who are a little bit less engaged, perhaps, than they were earlier on this afternoon, that doesn't surprise me at all. but i think that josh is a supremely good trial lawyer and that means he's watching that jury, he's looking at them, he's registering what laura just saw, and he's going to adjust. he's either going to move to a different point, he's going to bring the point home, or, if it's necessary, he's going to say to the judge, judge, this might be a good time for the afternoon break. to give the jurors a break. >> what he's already said, though, is that that call about karen mcdougal is, quote, powerful evidence, makes

more now from nbc news senior legal correspondent laura jarrett. laura? >> good morning to you. michael cohen has been nearly unflappable on the witness stand as the defense tries to show this jury that he has changed his story about things big and small. the word lie used more than 50 times in court just yesterday. the jury may not remember every single defense attack line, but they only need one person not to buy his story. this morning, donald trump's hush money cover-up trial inching towards a final conclusion, after a bruising cross examination of his former fixer, michael cohen. the defense team trying to portray the state's key witness as a serial liar, someone who misled congress, prosecutors, a federal judge, and now, this jury. trump attorney todd blanche digging into a piece of cohen's testimony from earlier this week, where he said he informed mr. trump by phone in october 2016 that his payoff of stormy daniels would soon be handled. cohen originally told the jury he called mr. trump's bodyguard, keith schiller, who passed the phone to the former president. blanche r

i'm not supposed to be talking to you because he gagged me. >> nbc's laura jarrett reporting.ing us now is nbc legal analyst catherine christian. thank you so much for joining us. let's start with keith davidson's testimony. defense tried to paint him as an extortionist, participating in a sleazily shakedown of donald trump, asking for big bucks. let me ask you, do you think they were successful? and if so what impact do you think his testimony will have? >> they were successful and extortion is a crime and he would have been convicted of that. they were successful in painting him as a sleazy lawyer but more important for the defense he never dealt directly with donald trump, he always dealt with michael cohen. they also were successful in having davidson question the credibility of cohen and also put in the jurors mind they already knew this from opening statements in vor dire but even more michael cohen has an axe to grind, that he was so upset donald trump didn't take him to the white house. witness after witness the prosecution are not going to wrap their arms around micha

laura jarrett joins us. laura, what did the court say? >> well, lester, the court has now given mr. trump permission to appeal that decision from march that kept the d.a. on the case but prompted her to remove nathan wade, her ex-boyfriend, who had led the prosecution. now, mr. trump still wants the d.a. disqualified, so this appeal will slow down the georgia case considerably with the d.c. election interference case still in limbo, and the florida classified documents trial now indefinitely on hold, all of it making it all but uncertain the hush money trial will be the only case done by november, and stormy daniels is, of course, expected back on the stand here in manhattan tomorrow, lester. >> okay, laura, thanks very much. >>> in battleground wisconsin president biden tried to sell voters on the strength of the u.s. economy, but as peter alexander reports, he is still facing plenty of skepticism. >> reporter: president biden in wisconsin tonight, his fourth visit to the crucial battleground this year announcing the creation of a multibillion dollar a.i. datacenter, and microsoft

back to you. >> right, okay, laura jarrett, thank you. >>> and let's switch gears.eek here on "nbc news daily." today we're focusing how to stay present and mindful while you're on vacation. you've likely heard the term fomo. fear of missing out. well, you can also get travel fomo, the feeling we get when we're scrolling through social media and looking at the great places friends are visiting. here to talk about it all is psychologist jennifer hartstein. what's the psychology of fomo? >> it's envy. you're envious of what other people are doing. we are living kind of our lives through their lens instead of living our own lives. that could be so much better. we're forgetting what we're doing that's good for ourselves. but everything looks better, especially on a social media screen. >> grass is greener on the other side, always. >> always, always. >> what is the solution? how do we try not to be bothered by or get riled up by seeing other people's pictures? >> first of all, acknowledge that you might. denying that we are never going to feel envious of another person