The View from Inside the Courtroom with Jonathan Alter
The Bill Press Pod
BP Pods
4.7 • 601 Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2024
⏱️ 27 minutes
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Summary
Jonathan Alter is a presidential historian and longtime reporter and columnist for Newsweek in its heyday. For the last few weeks, he has been in the actual courtroom with Donald Trump every single day. He and Bill discuss the trial of and the likelihood of Trump being convicted of a felony. The defense has just about wrapped up its case, with Michael Cohen admitting to stealing money from the Trump Organization. The prosecution had to remind the jury that it is Donald Trump who is on trial, not Michael Cohen. The judge also criticized a defense witness for inappropriate behavior in the courtroom. He and Bill discuss the dramatic events that occurred in the courtroom, including the clearing of the courtroom and a frenzied exit by reporters. The trial is not about whether Trump had sex with Stormy Daniels, but rather about campaign finance violations and falsification of business records. The defense is trying to shift the focus onto Cohen, while the prosecution is trying to establish that Trump knew about and approved the illegal payments. The chances of Trump being convicted are discussed.
You can read his short daily reports in The New York Times here and the longer reports at his newsletter at OldGoats.substack.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Greetings, friends and neighbors, and welcome back to the Bill Press pod. |
| 0:11.6 | You know, for weeks now, the question everyone's been asking is, |
| 0:15.3 | will Donald Trump walk out of a New York courthouse a candidate or a convicted felon? Well, soon know. The defense just |
| 0:24.2 | about wrapped up its case on Monday after a wild day in the courtroom, where Michael Cohen |
| 0:30.3 | admitted that he stole money from the Trump organization, where the prosecution had to remind the jury |
| 0:36.1 | that it's Donald Trump who's on trial and not Michael Cohen who's on trial, and where the prosecution had to remind the jury that it's Donald Trump who's on trial and not Michael |
| 0:39.1 | Cohen who's on trial, and where the judge blasted defense witness Robert Costello for inappropriate |
| 0:45.9 | behavior in the courtroom. So what happens next? And what are the chances Donald Trump will |
| 0:52.0 | actually be convicted of a felony? |
| 0:54.8 | Maybe 34 counts. |
| 0:57.0 | Well, Jonathan Alter, longtime reporter and columnist for Newsweek, now author of the Old Goats newsletter, |
| 1:03.9 | is one of a handful of reporters who's been in the courtroom every single day of the trial. |
| 1:10.4 | And we caught up with Jonathan late last night just |
| 1:13.4 | after he got back from a long day in the courthouse. Jonathan Alter, welcome back from the |
| 1:19.9 | courtroom. Welcome to the Ville Press pod. And boy, I don't know, you've been in a courtroom every |
| 1:25.0 | day, but yesterday must have been one of the most |
| 1:28.9 | dramatic days so far from all accounts. Tell us what came down on Monday, May 20. |
| 1:38.7 | It was a crazy day in the courtroom, and I kind of realized it would be early on when I saw Chuck Zito |
| 1:47.4 | was in the house. Do you know who that is? He was his legendary Hells Angels guy who served |
| 1:55.4 | time on a drug charge. He's been in a lot of dumb movies. He punched out John Van Damme at one point. |
| 2:02.5 | He went to John Gotti's wake. |
| 2:05.1 | You know, he's one of these guys who just sort of a kind of a low life who's become a cultural icon in certain circles. |
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