The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2:

4:05pm- Jonah E. Bromwich, Ben Protess, and Kate Christobek of The New York Times write: “Donald J. Trump on Thursday delivered abrupt remarks in his own defense on the final day of his civil fraud trial in Manhattan, attacking the New York attorney general, who brought the case, insulting the judge to his face and declaring himself ‘an innocent man.’Mr. Trump’s remarks…lasted only minutes, during which he impugned the attorney general, Letitia James, a Democrat, saying she ‘hates Trump and uses Trump to get elected.’ He also took aim at the judge, Arthur F. Engoron, remarking, ‘You have your own agenda, I certainly understand that.’ He added, as the judge stared stonily at him, ‘You can’t listen for more than one minute.’ Justice Engoron instructed the former president’s lawyer to ‘control your client.’ But Mr. Trump continued until the lunch break, at which point he stopped as suddenly as he had started. The episode ushered in a dramatic conclusion to a monthslong trial that has enraged the former president and threatens his family business.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/11/nyregion/trump-fraud-trial

4:10pm- On Wednesday night, Republican presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley participated in a debate on CNN hosted by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Simultaneously, former President—and Republican primary front runner—Donald Trump held a town hall hosted by Fox News.

4:20pm- Jonah Bromwich, The New York Times reporter who is inside the courtroom for Donald Trump’s civil fraud case, writes: “As [Andrew] Amer, the state lawyer, is explaining it, the case for Trump’s intent rests on his responsibility for the annual financial statements, Michael Cohen’s testimony and some of the gaps in Trump’s own testimony. But thus far, there is no real smoking gun that shows that Trump intended to commit fraud—the evidence is mostly circumstantial.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/11/nyregion/trump-fraud-trial

4:35pm- John Yoo— the Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley & a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hearing arguments to determine the validity of Donald Trump’s presidential immunity defense in his federal election subversion indictment. Professor Yoo explains that if Trump’s immunity defense is found invalid, we’ll have “presidents always worried about what their successors will do to them…which is what we see in banana republics” and could potentially impact the decision-making process of the nation’s Commander in Chief. He points out the prosecution of Trump is particularly disturbing given the fact that the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice is targeting a major party candidate actively challenging President Joe Biden in an election.

4:50pm- On Thursday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced that tomorrow he is planning to formally endorse a Republican primary candidate for president. Most believe it will be former President Donald Trump.