while he sat slumped at the defense table. they didn t get to hear stormy daniels testimony and they didn t get to watch the judge clear the courtroom in anger as he butted heads with a truculent witness. instead americans had to rely on the words of reporters who were in the room making notes and writing down things we saw and experienced. things that a transcript cannot capture. that was something to behold. i could hear people gasping. i was not sure we were going to get a place where we had any guilty verdicts let alone all 34 accounts. todd blanche said he was writing checks from the white house. this was as professional a jury as you could get. what you ve heard about it being the courtroom israel. his eyes have been closed most of the morning and i cannot say what s happening behind those islets. guilty repeated over and over. tonight we welcome you to this special msnbc event. prosecuting donald trump. witness to history. andrew weissmann and i will e
after 22 witnesses and 16 days of testimony, donald trump has become the first ever american president to be convicted of a crime. this trial will go down in history. but without cameras in the courtroom, americans did not get to see the evidence for themselves. they did not see his eyes closed while he sat slumped at the defense table. they didn t get to hear stormy daniels testimony and they didn t get to watch the judge clear the courtroom in anger as he butted heads with a truculent witness. instead, americans had to rely on the words of reporters who were in the room making notes and writing down things we saw and experienced. things that a transcript cannot capture. that was something to behold. i could hear people gasping. i was not sure we were going to get a place where we had any guilty verdicts let alone all 34 accounts. todd blanche said he was writing checks from the white house. this was as professional a jury as you could get. what you ve heard about i
words. what people said in the line at the bathroom. and this testimony from stormy daniels. we will hear what are best legal minds saw. let s start with first impressions from inside the manhattan criminal court house. it is a surreal moment to go into the courtroom for the first time. and see a former president who is simultaneously the world s greatest clown. those two things at the same time as a criminal defendant just spin things in your head. and the weirdness of that alone is your first hour in the courtroom. and it s hard to take in anything other than the
exception. it s one thing to hear the news about it or to read the transcript. but tonight we will continue to learn from people who were inside the courtroom, day in and day out, waking up to wait in line to get one of the few seats available to the public and the press at 100 center street here in manhattan. tonight i m joined by a special legal panel who spent many hours in the manhattan criminal court house. please welcome laura jarrett, and katie phang, and lisa rubin. they are here with us along with msnbc hosts giving us impressions. lisa, some of these witnesses got a lot of attention.
sit just behind donald trump as the details of the case spilled out. we will tell you what it felt like in the room when witnesses took the stand a few feet away from him. the unscripted and unpredictable moments when the former president seemed to be nodding off or muttering curse words. what people said in the line at the bathroom. and this testimony from stormy daniels. we will hear what our best legal minds saw. let s start with first impressions from inside the manhattan criminal court house. it is a surreal moment to go into the courtroom for the first time. and see a former president who is simultaneously the world s greatest clown. those two things at the same time as a criminal defendant