Legal analyst, glenn kirschner, reacting to a major legal ruling against donald trump. Well break down the fraud case against the former president just ahead. Plus, the current President Joe Biden makes history as the first sitting Commander In Chief to join a picket line. Well show you what biden said to auto workers and take a look at his support could impact negotiations. And also ahead an update on the budget battle on capitol hill. House republicans are making some progress on a package of spending bills, but congress is still very much on a path to a shutdown. Good morning and welcome to way too early on this wednesday, september 27th. Im jonathan lemire, and thanks for starting your day with us. And we have a busy news day today and well begin with the monumental ruling in a civil case against donald trump which could serve as a deathblow for his family business. In a 35page decision yesterday manhattan judge Arthur Engoron found the former president , his two oldest sons, and their companies liable for fraud. According to the judge the trumps spent years inflating the value of their assets in Financial Statements that were given to banks and insurance companies. The ruling tied to a case brought bay new York State Attorney general Letitia James back in 2019 which was scheduled to go to a bench trial early next week. Yesterday the judge effectively decided that he didnt need a trial to determine the trumps were liable. Quote, this is a Fantasy World not the real world. The judge wrote in his ruling, as he admonished the former president for overvaluing his holdings by as much as 2. 2 billion. In one example trump overestimated the size of his manhattan Penthouse Apartment which he spent years living in by 19,000 feet. In other wos,e exaggerated by about 200 . The judge called that absurd yesterday, writing, quote, a discrepancy of this order of magnitude by a Real Estate Developer sizing up his own living space of decades can only be considered fraud. Now, next weeks bench trial will still proceed, so the judge can determine the size of the punishment. Attorney general james sued trump for 250 million, and the judge has already granted her one of the other major punishments she sought, to cancel the business certificates that allow many of trumps new York Properties to even operate. That means that after losing the white house in 2020, trump could soon lose his new york homes as well in addition to other real estate including control of trump tower in Midtown Manhattan and several golf courses in New York State as well. If the trumps lose their appeals, they could also be banned from ever doing business in New York State again. In a statement yesterday the former president s attorney called the decision, quote, completely disconnected from the facts in governing law. The judge, though, he also sanctioned trumps attorneys 7,500 a piece yesterday for making legal arguments that had already been rejected. Trump himself also reacted to the ruling with a series of social media posts. He attacked the judge who he is suing as well as the new York State Attorney general. Well have much more on this throughout way too early and morning joe. Turning to some other headlines now, President Joe Biden has made history becoming the first sitting president to join a picket line in modern times. Biden met striking auto workers yesterday in bellville, michigan. He encouraged them to not give up their fight. Uaw, you saved the Automobile Industry back in 2008 and 2004, you gave up a lot and now the companies are doing incredibly well. And guess what . You should be doing incredibly well, too. Stick with it because you deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits. The middle class rules the country. Unions built the middle class. Thats a fact. The union has been on strike against detroits Big Three Auto Makers Forearly two weeks now. Theyre demanding a 40 pay raise over four years as well as better Retirement Benefits and a shorter workweek. While the white house says theyre staying out of negotiations, two of bidens top aides are staying in michigan to help continue conversations between the union and auto makers. Meanwhile, donald trump is set to Visit Detroit today where hell visit striking auto workers in lieu of attending the second president ial debate being held in california. Trump is set to deliver remarks at a nonunionized auto parts supplier before a crowd of current and former uaw members. According had his campaign, the former president will focus on attacking the bidens economic policies as well as the current president s embrace of Electric Vehicles, a race essential to the uaw strike. While its not yet endorsed any candidate in the president ial race, its leader, shawn fain, said he wont meet with trump. Fain says the former preside doesnt care about the Working Class and is, quote, just trying to pander to people. Fain did appear alongside Biden Yesterday in the picket lines. Joining us now White House Reporter for the wall street journal. Sabrina, great to see you yesterday. So lets talk about the white houses approach with this strike. They have some advisers there as we just noted but got a little messy yesterday. The president was asked by the Traveling Press Pool whether he supported the 40 pay raise the workers want. He said yes, the white house then tried to walk that back telling the press pool later the president had misheard the question. However, when confronted with information in a transcript the president did answer it, they had to walk back the walk back. So why is this so confusing . Why cant the white house make a firm stance on it . Well, i think it shows just how delicate of a balancing act this is for the president and the white house. Because when you think about the president s typically stay out of the fray when comes to labor strikes, and this white house has said that the president is not going to get directly involved in negotiations, but then you saw him not just join the picket line but express his support for higher raises for these workers and of course express his support for their right to bargain. And so i think, you know, that was a really significant show of support on the part of the president , but of course hes also balancing the potential impact of a prolonged strike on the economy, on supply chains, so theres a lot of factors to consider here. But i think by and large the white house felt pretty good about the symbolism of President Biden being the first in modern history to join a picket line from the highest office in the land especially as they do contrast his visit with that of former trump today in michigan, which of course is a key battleground that helped elevate biden to the white house when it flipped from trump to biden in the 2020 election. Lets go further on the politics there. Its a hard case to make that any democrat could win the white house without winning michigan, why this team has put a lot of effort into holding that state blue. How do they feel about it right now as they look around at those trio of great lake states, michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania . How are they feeling about this one . I think its very much integral to the president s Reelection Campaign focusing on those three rust belt states crucial to securing his victory in 2020, and you look at where he spent a lot of his time, you know, he hadnt hit the road too much at this stage, but he spent a lot of his time in pennsylvania. Of course we saw him in michigan yesterday, and this is an important issue for the president because he has also made his support for unions a center piece of his record and of his campaign, and really this is an opportunity to highlight his ties to unions, which has always been a strength for democrats. But as you noted in your introduction there, so far the uaw has withheld its endorsement and not endorsed a candidate on either side. So it remains to be seen if the president s visit will have any longterm political impact. I know some workers that my colleagues at the journal who were on the ground spoke to said this is not the only issue theyre considering. Going into the election there are a lot of issues top of mind, and one of the challenges here for President Biden is in this strike these workers are also concerned about his clean energy policies, this push toward Electric Vehicles that typically require fewer workers to manufacture and the potential for job displacement. So in some ways it was a major moment for him to stand shoulder to shoulder with these workers even though one of their concerns stems directly from his administrations policies. Its certainly been an important week for this white house. It feels like the general election under way. Trump in michigan today and of course the president to deliver a speech on democracy tomorrow. We really appreciate it. White house reporter for the wall street journal, sabrina siddiqui, come back soon. We turn to capitol hill now. And in a bipartisan vote the senate advanced a stop gap bill to fund the government until november 17th. That measure includes roughly 6 billion in aid to ukraine as well as a separate 6 billion for emergency Disaster Relief funding for fema. But despite this progress, senator rand paul of kentucky has vowed to reject an agreement to pass the bill quickly, which could push any final passage until after the funding deadline has come and gone. The bill would still need to be approved by the house and signed by President Biden. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell yesterday spoke to the importance of passing the bill in time. As ive said for months the only solution for avoiding a harmful Government Shutdown is bipartisanship. The extreme right and the other chambers say they actually want a shutdown. What insanity. This will avoid that terrible outcome. A Government Shutdown would be an unnecessary disruption of the important work of the senates agenda, shutting the government down over a domestic Budget Dispute doesnt strengthen anyones political position, it just puts important progress on ice, and it leaves millions of americans on edge. And of course its not yet clear what the house will do and the clock is ticking towards that shutdown. Still ahead what were learning about the first Impeachment Inquiry hear into President Biden which is set for tomorrow in the lower chamber. Plus senator bob menendez is refusing to resign despite calls from two dozen colleagues to do so following the new jersey lawmakers indictment on bribery charges. Well show you what he had to say about his legal troubles. Those stories, a check on weather and sports, and a preview of tonights Republican Debate when we come right back. K all toooo youuuuu sean i wish for the amazing new iphone 15 pro jason sean do you mean this one the one with titanium . sean no way i can trade this busted up thing for one. jason maybe stealing wishes from the birthday boy is not your best plan switch to verizon and trade in any iphone and get the new iphone 15 pro on them. sean what . jason yup, and on an Amazing Network sean and i dont have to ruin anymore Birthday Parties jason yeah, that ship has sailed. Lets go get you the iphone. Here we go, come on hon. vo trade in any iphone in any condition for a new iphone 15 pro on us. Only on verizon. Rsv is out there. For those 60 years and older protect against rsv with arexvy. Arexvy is a vaccine used to prevent lower Respiratory Disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. Arexvy does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients. Those with weakened Immune Systems may have a lower response to the vaccine. 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They include conservative legal scholar Jonathan Tirley lsh bruce, who has also commented on Hunter Bidens finances on fox news, and former Assistant General of the tax division at the department of justice, eileen oconnor. House oversight and Committee Chair james comer told reporters last week that the hearing is not expected to cover any new ground. Comer has alleged President Biden accepted a bribe as part of his dealings in ukraine as Vice President , but republicans have yet to find any smoking guns to back those claims. Yesterday there was some chatter about a payment from china. Again, no evidence there either. President biden has denied any wrongdoing. Elsewhere on capitol hill, senator bob menendez will be arraigned this morning as the number of Democratic Senators calling for his Resignation Swells to nearly half the senate chamber. Menendez will make his first appearance in a Manhattan Federal Court alongside his wife nadine and three other charges that include conspiracy to commit bribery. They both insist they did nothing wrong. As of last night at least 24 Senate Democrats have called on menendez, theiro democrat, to step down,nd that includes his long time friend and fellow new jersey senator cory boor. In a Statement Booker praised menendez as a person and friend and called h refusal to resign a mistake, writing in part this stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgement that Holding Public office often demands tremendous srifices at great personal cost. Senator menendez has made these sacrifices in the past to serve, dn this case he must do so again. I believe stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving. Menendez was forced to step down already as chairman of the Foreign Relations committee as after the indictment was issued last week, but he has been defiant. Hes refusing to give up his senate seat. Earlier this week menendez claimed the nearly half Million Dollars prosecutors say they found stuffed in envelopes and clothes during a search of his house was simply money hed withdrawn regularly over the decades. Yesterday the new jersey lawmaker got into a Contentious Exchange with nbc News Reporter ryan nobles when pressed on the growing calls for riz resignation. Take a listen to that exchange. Have you run for reelection, sir . Why wont you resign, sir . Why were there gold bars there . There you have it. Well bring you updates as they develop. Still ahead well switch to sports and have an update on the Playoff Picture of Major League Baseball as two more teams secure spots in the postseason. Plus, aaron rogers, remember him. 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