point out we still need prosecutors to connect donald trump to the actual actions that are taking place here. donald trump did not say set up this llc. it s important to remember that michael cohen s testimony has to be supported at some point to where did donald trump instruct you to do this specifically. it s time for us to hand it over. thank you all for being with us. we appreciate all of you. that s going to do it for us this hour. andrea mitchell and katy tur will pick things up after a quick break. i ll see you back at 1:00 eastern time. keep it here. lots going on. good day, everyone. the star witness takes the stand. now the critical figure in the hush money case. michael cohen, once donald trump s loyal attack dog, is now face-to-face with his former boss for the first time in months. cohen is the lynch pin of the prosecution s case. they argue cohen acted at trump s direction in an attempt to illegally influence the 2016 election. the defense s counter, onc
client without guarantee of a repayment. we ll hear about notes that allen weisselberg took in documenting the repayment. i think those notes also have michael cohen s handwriting on it. i think you ll hear more about those notes. those notes, it s exhibit 35 the reason i remember it, incredibly strong proof for the prosecution. mary mcchord and i there s an episode of our podcast talking about just that exhibit and why it is so devastating. and then finally we ll be taken into the oval office, where michael cohen has a conversation with donald trump about the repayment scheme. so, those are the remaining pieces. finally the jury will hear about all of the things that michael cohen has pleaded guilty to, and he ll have to explain why he pled guilty to something he now says he is not guilty of. that might be a bit of a difficult part of the testimony, and then we ll get to cross examination. that for michael cohen is kind of the ball game. the direct should go swimmingly,
word with lawrence o donnell. . at evening and put me down as desperately available to be on to talk with you and rachel, talking about this trial any night. i marked you down. see you tomorrow night. thank you. well, the excitement and anticipation in the room had a new high at 10:32 a.m. she entered wearing all black, as if on her way to a funeral. the loosefitting, plain black clothing dripping from her shoulders to her toes suggested modesty. the makeup was minimal. the way she and the other moms in her neighborhood might look when shopping at the local grocery store. the long, blonde hair, held up with a clip at the back of her head, the way it might be in a utilitarian way while doing dishes or checking one of the horse shoes on her horse. she later spoke of so proudly. when she walked by him, her face had the same expressionless, somber look that all of the jurors always have when they walk by him. looking at the floor. she did not look at him. the first time t
at a donor event last night donald trump took another page out of the authoritarian playbook. i will get the congressman s reaction when he joins me here in studio. later. it is clear that general z is going to be central to this campaign. a professor is here for a conversation about this moment for young people in america. my first interaction with some of his senior aides was in november 2016 two days after the election and it is still one of my clearest memories from that point of time. the day he visited the white house. he met with president obama in the oval office. well that was happening his son in law took a walk with them around the grounds. the press secretary at the time pointed out in the briefing room that day he brought someone else along to that day. the spokeswoman was here. he i had an opportunity to meet her while the president-elect was meeting with president obama. noted that she also had longer meetings with some of the members of the colleagues in
good friday morning, it is 10:00 eastern. i m ana cabrera reporting from new york. we begin with breaking news in a courtroom in manhattan where witness testimony has just resumed in donald trump s hush money trial, and back on the stand is the forensic specialist from the manhattan d.a. s office who inspected data from michael cohen s phone including text messages and secret recordings. nbc s vaughn hillyard is standing by for us outside the courthouse. also with us former u.s. attorney, former state court judge carol lam, and state attorney for palm beach county, florida, dave aronberg. vaughn, start us off here. the judge started everything by pushing back on some of trump s comments yesterday about his potential testimony in this case. what can you tell us? reporter: right. trump has repeatedly bemoaned the fact that this gag order has been placed on him preventing him from speaking about witnesses as this pertains to this criminal proceeding, but also the jury. bu