quote, obsessed with mr. trump and wants to see him in an orange jumpsuit because cohen's entire financial livelihood depends on trump's destruction. cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and lying under oath. the prosecutors pre-emptively defending him today saying he made mistakes in the past to protect his boss. >> and laura is here with me on the set alongside hallie jackson. laura, let me begin with you. the first witness on the stand right now, does it give us any hint where all this is leading? >> yes. tabloid mogul david pecker is at that 2015 meeting at trump tower as we mentioned. he's useful for prosecutors because he puts mr. trump in the room for this alleged plot. he's also useful because his name is not michael cohen and his testimony will continue tomorrow, lester. >> all right, laura, thank you. and hallie, this is a partisan prosecution in the opinion of mr. trump. >> yeah, that's what his campaign's been saying. and in some ways what we just heard in court, what laura has laid o

mr. trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, revolving around hush money payments to cover up an alleged affair with a porn actress. the former president has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied an affair. before today's questioning of prospective jurors got underway, the judge made it clear that the presumptive republican nominee was expected to be in court every day of the trial. the judge also making an important ruling over the admissibility of the infamous "access hollywood" tape in the trial. senior legal correspondent laura jarrett has late details. >> reporter: donald trump sitting in a manhattan courtroom today watching the process of whittling down a pool of hundreds to a jury of 12 with six alternates, people who will soon sit in judgment of the former president, the first to ever face a criminal trial. >> we're not going to be given a fair trial. it's a very very sad thing. >> reporter: 200 people summoned to the courthouse today, questioned about their b

he testified about a payment to a new york doorman for a salacious but untrue story about mr. trump and described a key meeting in which he says he pledged to be donald trump's eyes and ears, ready to alert to negative stories that could appear about him during the 2016 presidential campaign. the prosecution hoping to prove it all leads to paying off a porn star and an illegal scheme to disguise the transaction through altered business records. once again tonight, here is laura jarrett. >> reporter: tonight, mr. trump's long-time friend david pecker, the former publisher of the "national enquirer" offering the jury a rare glimpse into the underworld of tabloid tactics, as the state seeks to prove the former president doctored his internal business records to cover up the payoff of an adult film actress just days before the 2016 election. >> mr. trump, what do you think of david pecker? >> reporter: pecker describing a meeting at trump tower in 2015 with mr. trump and his former fixer michael cohen, where pecker says he agreed to serve as the eyes and ears for rumors that could hurt

i think we are doing well. >> [inaudible] mr. trump: migrants are taking over. 500,000 illegal migrants in new york. the people in new york are going to vote for trump. >> [shouting] >> what did you think of the jury? mr. trump: i don't know. it is early to see. this is so conflicted, there has never been anybody as conflicted as this. all of that stuff is on appeal right now. the whole world is watching this new york legal system. this is really election interference at the highest level. it all comes out of washington because they are losing badly. you know, they are losing badly. they are losing badly in the polls. i think you will see numbers coming out even higher. people don't like the persecution. they don't like what's going on. they don't like fake prosecutors. deranged jack smith, the whole group of them. i think you will see some big changes being made. >> [shouting] mr. trump: you know what we are going to be doing? we are going to be saving america. our country is under siege. take a look at israel. it doesn't feel protect

mr. trump claims absolute immunity from prosecution, something the court didn't seem inclined to go along with, yet conservatives on the court sharply questioned the special counsel's position as well. none of that stopping the new york hush money trial, which continued today for mr. trump as the key witness testified for a third day. laura jarrett has details. >> reporter: tonight, the u.s. supreme court weighing a monumental question that will decide whether the former president goes to trial for plotting to overturn the last election and win. >> i think that the supreme court has very important arguments before it today. >> reporter: mr. trump hoping to persuade the justices to find him immune from federal charges. his lawyers arguing the office of the presidency would be completely hobbled without that protection. >> without presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, there can be no presidency as we know it. >> reporter: the special counsel's office indicted mr. trump on conspiracy an

i think we are doing well. >> [inaudible] mr. trump: migrants are taking over. 500,000 illegal migrants in new york. the people in new york are going to vote for trump. >> [shouting] >> what did you think of the jury? mr. trump: i don't know. it is early to see. this is so conflicted, there has never been anybody as conflicted as this. all of that stuff is on appeal right now. the whole world is watching this new york legal system. this is really election interference at the highest level. it all comes out of washington because they are losing badly. you know, they are losing badly. they are losing badly in the polls. i think you will see numbers coming out even higher. people don't like the persecution. they don't like what's going on. they don't like fake prosecutors. deranged jack smith, the whole group of them. i think you will see some big changes being made. >> [shouting] mr. trump: you know what we are going to be doing? we are going to be saving america. our country is under siege. take a look at israel. it doesn't feel protect

mr. trump's attorneys had argued it's unfair to hold him accountable for reposting criticism others have voiced, and that certain witnesses like michael cohen frequently attack mr. trump. the presumptive republican nominee later deleting the nine posts about cohen and stormy daniels that landed him in hot water. >> this gag order is not only unique, it's totally unconstitutional. i'm the republican candidate for president of the united states. there is no crime. there is no anything here. >> reporter: the former president joined in court today by son eric, the first family member to attend. the prosecution calling keith davidson, the lawyer who represented daniels and karen mcdougal two women who say they had sex with mr. trump, which he denied. mr. trump is charged with a low-level felony, falsifying business documents over his reimbursements to cohen, who allegedly made the hush money payments. davidson testifying that after the release of that damaging "access hollywood" tape, interest in wh

mr. trump illegally falsified business records as part of a scheme to conceal hush money payments to a porn star with whom he's alleged to have had an affair. allegations he denies. laura jarrod has late developments. >> reporter: tonight, a full jury of 12 now sworn in in former trump's hush money criminal trial. after the day began with drama surrounding two jurors dismissed. the full jury now including an investment banker, security engineer, retired private wealth manager, speech therapist, physical therapist, someone in e-commerce and product development manager. >> i've been here all day on a trial that really is a very unfair trial. everyone is watching this new york scam. >> reporter: mr. trump arriving with seven jurors sworn in only to see that number quickly go down to five after an oncology nurse who said during questioning that no one was above the law. i'm here to just hear the facts, tell the judge today, she had concerns she could not be impartial about mr. trump. and worried ab

mr. trump zeroing in on the border crisis, highlighting the murder of 25-year-old ruby garcia here last month. authorities say the suspect, her romantic partner, an undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported during the trump administration. >> not one more innocent life should be lost to biden migrant crime. >> reporter: mr. trump slamming president biden for rolling back restrictive trump border policies. >> under the trump administration, we had a tough policy of getting the bad people out. >> reporter: a new survey shows 64% of americans disapprove of president biden's handling of the border, including three in ten democrats. >> you don't have a border, you've got problems. and they're importing them all over the country. >> reporter: but studies suggest migrants don't commit crimes at higher rates than american citizens, and democrats argue mr. trump is trying to exploit garcia's death. they blame the former president for killing a bipartisan border security bill in congress. t

mr. trump's election chances. mr. trump's lawyer sought to raise questions about pecker's memory and motives on cross-examination. pecker defiant at one point saying, i've been truthful to the best of my recollection. the tabloid mogul also undermining the idea mr. trump wanted to bury those stories about women to protect his family, a common refrain from the defense. instead, pecker said he believed it was all to protect his campaign. >> i do have to begin by wishing melania happy birthday. she's in florida. >> reporter: melania trump notably absent at trial. >> laura, does it appear prosecutors got what they needed from david pecker this week? >> lester, pecker is a useful witness for prosecutors to the extent he can testify about conversations about mr. trump that touch on his alleged scheme to influence the election, but what he can't offer, lester, is any evidence on the actual crime that the former president has been indicted for, which isn't a campaign finance violation. it's the way his payments to cohen were d

mr. trump: i will let you know in two months. >> [indiscernible] mr. trump: right now, we have to get the criminals because many people coming into our country are criminals and mental patients. we have to get them out. we will have the largest deportation in the history of our country. you know who needs that? new york. african-american, hispanic american, asian american, they are all losing. unions are losing. >> [indiscernible] what is he doing here because he doesn't like the community. mr. trump: me? i love them and they love me. my numbers are the highest in the history of the republican party with the latinos. did you know that? and, frankly, the illegal immigrants, we have to do something because no country can sustain it. they are emptying out their prisons and men still -- mental institutions. these are people from mental institutions. >> you are in harlem, a different neighborhood. mr. trump: i think we are connecting already. i was invited here by the bodega association. they are getting robbed two or three times a week. i think we are doing

he emphasized that mr. trump denies her claim saying daniels agreement to not spread false claims about trump is not illegal. it was mr. trump himself after the proceedings, giving some comments in new york city. here he is from yesterday. [video clip] >> they take this payment and call it a legal expense. this is what i got indicted on. they should be in georgia -- i should be in georgia now. i should be in florida. i should be in a lot of different places campaigning and i am sitting here. it is very unfair. the judge is conflicted. it is very unfair what is going on. i should be allowed to campaign. whoever heard of this. to be indicted for that? people in the courts cannot believe it. this is the case. we did something wrong. why didn't the district bring it to look at it? why did not other agencies and law enforcement groups look at it? because it was shown to everybody. very importantly, why did the federal elections do nothing about this? they are trying to make it a state thing. it has never happened befo

electoral votes to mr. trump, despite his lost to president biden. the sending of phony slates of pro-trump electors to congress to disrupt the election certification on january 6th looming large at the high court today as well, as the justices look to determine the line between a political candidate's actions taken for personal gain from a president's official conduct that could be immune from prosecution. >> laura, we heard a lot today. what are the possible outcomes here? >> reporter: well, lester, there is any number of different scenarios that the supreme court could take here. it seems most likely based on the questioning that the justices will say the former president is not completely immune from all acts, but he might enjoy some limited immunity for some acts in which case they're likely to send this case back down to the lower court to do some of that work, to figure out where the line is, lester. but of course that means more delays and it means this case is not going to trial by november. lester? >> a

mr. trump, meanwhile, back in a new york courtroom. david pecker, the former "national enquirer" publisher back on the stand, testifying about the alleged catch and kill scheme to help mr. trump's 2016 campaign. the tense conversation pecker says he had over paying off stormy daniels. >>> also tonight, usc canceling its main commencement after the arrest of dozens of pro-palestinian protesters. the new clashes as campus unrest spreads. police in atlanta's emory university tasing a protester in handcuffs. restraining others with zip ties. >>> harvey weinstein's rape conviction in new york overturned. the egregious errors the judge is accused of making. will it lead to a new trial? >>> tracking severe storms across several states tonight. >>> the school principal police say was framed using fake ai. >>> arrested at the airport with a gun. >>> and after the first video of their son in 200 days, the parents of an american-israeli hostage speaking out. their message of hope. >> announcer: this is "n

mr. trump calling it an assault on america and an attack by a political opponent. the trial and the political fallout tonight. >>> also this evening, after iran launches hundreds of missiles and drones against israel, israel says there will be a response despite u.s. pressure not to retaliate. a source telling nbc a response may be imminent, while in the streets of the u.s., pro-palestinian protesters disrupt traffic coast to coastou on the golden gate bridge, the brooklyn bridge, and at an a major airport. >>> bracing for severe weather, hail hitting the mid atlantic. tens of millions at risk in the plains. al roker is here. >>> the armorer on the "rust" movie set, hannah gutierrez-reed sentenced. the judge's harsh words. >>> the mothers from kansas missing for weeks. now four people charged with murder. stun guns, burner cell phones, the shocking and elaborate new details alleged in police affidavits. >>> defacing our national parks, police searching for the men seen damaging ancient rock for

they also can't just say that mr. trump lied when he had mr. cohen pay daniels on his behalf. because that just by itself would only be a misdemeanor, not a felony. so not really that big of a deal. so what does the state have to prove to convict mr. trump, of a more serious crime, a felony, or they have to prove that he did all of this as part of another underlying crime. so the payoff itself is not enough. he had to have done it for another reason, a more serious crime, an underlying crime. that's the term that used underlying now they must prove, for example, that the money was spent to improve his chances of winning the election. if they can do that, they can say the only way is a new pay this off is because he didn't want voters to know about what you did right. then they could say that it wasn't just a payment to avoid embarrassment or so his wife didn't find out what he had done would be a fair and all that stuff. but that he was instead influencing the election within the lead. the campaign finance payment. that's their argument that they say they're going to be able t

mr. trump: this is an exciting time because the bodega association invited me and they respect me and want law and order and they have tremendous crime where their stores are being robbed. as you know, we're going to give new york a very good shot for the presidency. we think we should be able to do it. a lot of things have changed. lee did a wonderful job. and new york's a lot different. and we'll work with the governor and bring in a lot of federal money. [crowd chanting "four more years"] mr. trump: these are great friends but have incredible crime. >> more than 50% of people, the majority believe -- [inaudible] mr. trump: i heard 78% think it's a rigged deal. it is a rigged deal. it's a rigged trial. our courts. everything is screwed up in new york and the whole world is watching. this judge is so conflicted. you'll understand that. take a look at that. there's never been a judge so conflicted. it's ridiculous. also, there's no crime. you know where the crime is, in the bodegas where they c

one man calling mr. trump, quote, fascinating and mysterious. one revealing he was a big fan of "the apprentice" in middle school. a woman saying, quote, president trump speaks his mind. and i'd rather that than someone who is in office who you don't know what they're thinking. and a fourth perspective juror telling attorneys, "i'm a democrat so, there you go. but i walk in there, and he's a defendant, and that's all he is." the defense team raising successful objections to a handful by pointing out past social media posts, including one who said "lock him up." while the judge fumed at mr. trump for appearing to mutter something, warning, "i will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom." jury selection is ongoing until 12 people and 6 alternates are selected. the former president is accused of falsifying business records, a low level felony, by mischaracterizing a hush money payment he allegedly directed michael cohen make to stormy daniels as legal expenses on his company's books. mr. trump pleaded not good. guilty. >> it's called lega

he was mr. trump's lawyer who actually paid a hush money to miss daniels and was then repaid by mister truck comments or jail time for the incident. and now will testify against trump, who he says should also go to jail just like you to karen mcdougal. she is a former playboy model, who is said to also have had an affair with mr. trump, and then agreed to sell her story for a $150000.00 about it. however, a magazine who bought it, buried it instead. the story that is not her. david packer. hm. interesting name. huh. he is the publisher of the magazine who paid mcdougal, prosecutors argue he was mr. trump associate and would often do this to silence his critics. do what? well, it's called catch and kill. pay for the exclusive rights to a story and then kill it. instead of doing it. fucker is also a witness in the case. so there you have a, some of the big players that we know of right now. others possibly could be introduced aside from the prosecutors and defense attorneys. those are the people who are going to be really making up this drama. right. but what about the drama itself? what

mr trump claims it's all a political witch hunt. al cases, with the potential for trump being jailed if convicted. as a reminder, let's look at the four criminal cases which the former president is facing. there's the new york hush money case concerning a payment made to the adult film actress stormy daniels shortly before the 2016 election. mr trump is facing 3a counts of fraud under campaign finance laws and has pleaded not guilty to all of them. meanwhile in georgia, donald trump and some 18 other defendants are accused of criminally conspiring to overturn his very narrow defeat in the state of georgia in the 2020 election. this case involves a huge racketeering investigation and mr trump was facing 13 criminal counts, three of which have been dismissed by a judge. again, mr trump has entered a plea of not guilty. another case involves allegations that mr trump pressured officials to reverse the 2020 election results, knowingly spread lies about election fraud and sought to exploit the capitol riot on 6january 2021 to delay the ce

but mr. trumpcing conspiracy or campaign finance violations, something the defense sought to highlight in opening statements. mr. trump's attorney describing him as a husband and father. a person just like you and me and is innocent, saying the payments to cohen were for legal expenses. arguing there is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. it's called democracy, not a crime. the alleged crime he is facing, a low-level felony, carrying up to four years in prison if convicted. but the judge could sentence him to probation. mr. trump noting the previous d.a. and federal prosecutors looked at this case and did not charge him. >> he got indicted for that? people said to me, i can't believe it. this is the case. so we did nothing wrong. >> reporter: mr. trump's attorney casting cohen as the prosecution's only real witness, out for revenge, saying he's, quote, obsessed with mr. trump and wants to see him in an orange jump suit because cohen's entire financial livelihood depends on trump's d

for mr. trump today's announcement is the latest step in a long public evolution on abortion. >> i'm very pro choice. >> i'm pro life. >> we will agree to a number of weeks which will be where both sides will be happy. >> meanwhile, garrett, former president trump made an 11th hour bid to delay his manhattan hush money trial. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that's right, lester. mr. trump's attorneys asked today for a change of venue due to pretrial publicity in manhattan. but an appeals court

by killing certain stories and help mr. trump by running others that were unfavorable to his opponents, laying out that relationship in detail is important. it helps explain not just the context to the jury but why the jury should trust mr. pecker and others who will later corroborate this relationship when they get on the stand. the devil is in the details, andrea, and it seems to me smart to start off the trial this way. >> but andrew, that's not illegal. that's unethical. that's bad campaign. well, not bad campaign practice i guess if it works but certainly not journalistically ethical. that said, how do you get to the felony here? >> so it is important to know that this is the crime charged is false business records, but in order for this to be a felony, it's false business records that were part of a cover-up that was furthering and concealing election fraud. that is the way in which the d.a. opened. and so you have all sorts of campaign violations. campaign finance violations that the d.a. is alleging. and that the money th

mr. trumpsed of trying to cover up a payment made to adult film star stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 election. ms. daniels claims she and mr. trump had an affair in 2016 and she was paid by mr. trump's then lawyer to stay quiet about it. mr. trump is accus of falsifying his business records by saying the business money he gave mr. cohen was for business reasons. mr. trump faces 34 counts of fraud but denies any wrongdoing and denies having an affair with daniels. trump could face a maximum of four years and present -- in prison if convicted. mr. trump accused the judge and prosecutors of political motivations. >> i am not in georgia or florida or north carolina campaigning like i should be. it's perfect for the radical left democrats, that's exactly what they want. this is that election interference, that's all it's about. sumi: let's go right to our correspondent, who's been outside of the courthouse following the story all day. tell us more about what happened today with this first phase of

mr. trump doctored business records to cover up a payment to daniels. mr. trump denies any relationship or wrongdoing here. cross examination, that will continue today. and the defense team has been challenging pecker's credibility and memory. as that testimony was happening, the supreme court heard arguments about the former president's immunity deechs. wimmunitydef defense. >> reporter: the supreme court deciding whether the former president will go to court for plotting to overturn the 2020 election. mr. trump hoping to persuade the justices to find him immune. >> without presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, there can be no presidency as we know it. >> reporter: the special counsel's office indicted mr. trump on conspiracy and obstruction charges last year for his efforts to cling to power, accusing the likely gop nominee of pressuring state officials to reverse the election results. actions doj argues were for purely personal gain and cannot be shielded from prosecution. >> ther

mr. trump's bank.hing because, listen, everybody is innocent until proven guilty, and this is a criminal case. so, i will just say, everybody is innocent until proven guilty. but, let's face it. people on that campaign team knew about the veracity of the facts associated with this case. >> so, hope hicks being named on the prosecution witness list, how pivotal a role might she play in the trial? >> well, since she is a really good person, i have enormous amount of respect for her, and i think she is going to tell the truth. so, whatever her truth is in terms of interactions, she will end up telling the truth. the problem with all of that is, she likes mr. trump and she has been loyal to mr. trump. this is where you get this intersection, that is what rona graff faced, as well. you are now on the line, somebody has broken the law. this is obviously an election interference issue, a very serious issue. it is not just a hush money case. so, i am sure hope is being well advised by her lawyers, under no cir

mr. trump and the cofounders

a defiant mr. trump guilty and claimed the attack was an assault on america and repeated unsubstantiated claim that the trial is a witchhunt against him. we begin our coverage with this report from our north america editor sarah smith. sarah: it has become a well rehearsed ritual. donald trump's performance on his way to court. but this time it is very different. the first criminal trial of a former president. and it comes with a possible prison sentence. just look at his face. he seems drained of all his usual bombast, while insisting he is the victim of a conspiracy to derail his presidential campaign. >> this is political persecution. this is a persecution like nobody has ever seen. again, it is a case that should have never been brought. it is an assault on america. that is why i'm very proud to be here. sarah: lil trump supporters and many ordinary voters do believe he is being unfairly targeted. >> they are weaponizing the criminal justice system against their political enemies and it is not right.