From august 2015 to December 2017 the defendant, im quoting that, obviously, is donald trump orchestrated a scheme with others. The defense the indictment reads to influence the 2016 president ial election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and to benefit the defendants electoral prospects. Now according to the statement of facts, which accompanies this actual indictment, which they go through through here, 130,000 were paid to Adult Film StarStormy Daniels 30,000 to a doorman and 150,000 to another woman, which it is clear from the statement of facts is Karen Macdougal. It is an unprecedented chapter in American History. And good afternoon to all. Im erin burnett here in new york, and im wolf blitzer here in washington. The lead up to trumps arrest was truly a remarkable sight to see the former president of the United States, leaving trump tower early this afternoon. His 11 car motorcade arriving at the Manhattan Criminal Court building just around 1. 30. Pm thats where he was arrested. And fingerprinted. Trump was then escorted to the courtroom where he pled not guilty. Shortly after trumps hearing, trumps attorneys slammed the case. Todays unsealing of this indictment shows that the rule of law died in this country because while everyone is not above the law, no ones below it either. And if this mans name was not donald j. Trump there is no scenario. Wed all be here today. Please understand that based on these charges meanwhile, the man at the forefront of trumps truly historic indictment, the manhattan District Attorney, alvin bragg, pushed back on team trumps claims. 34 false statements. Made to cover up other crimes. These are Felony Crimes in new york state. No matter who you are been doing this for 24 years. I dont bring cases prior to a thorough investigation now, having done so the case has been brought a team of reporters standing by jeff zeleny is just outside trump tower in new york. Paris canal is over at the courthouse in new york. Lets start with kara. Keira you were inside the courtroom during the arraignment. Where is this case headed down Campaign Team . Well, this widely anticipated moment, right . Donald trump coming in for this arraignment. Now his attorneys are really starting to put forward their legal argument. They made it very clear that theyre going to fight this case. They dont think that there is a case here, and theres a lot of different areas that they may attack this, so thats going to be the first thing that will see they will start filing motions. The judge has given them several months in order to do that. But were also seeing some other issues that are on the table here. The questions of former president s rhetoric, comments the verbal attacks hes made against the judge and the District Attorneys office. Now the prosecutors have said to the judge that theyre concerned about these statements. These threats and intimidation and theyre asking for a protective order. That is a common practice. But theyre saying that theyre doing because they dont want the former president to make all of these documents they have accumulated through their investigation public either through the media or posting it on social media. Thats one issue that they raised. Another issue that prosecutors raised is whether trumps current legal team can stand as it is tacopina, the attorney whos um sound bite you just played. They said that they believe he might have a conflict of interest. And maybe he should be disqualified from the case. They want the judge to examine that, tacopina said in open court that he never met Stormy Daniels. He never talked to Stormy Daniels, and he never viewed any of Stormy Daniels documents. He said that if there was any disqualification, it should just be if she were to take the stand that he would not be involved in the cross examination. Were starting to see some of these battle lines getting drawn now what . What is next to the formality or the next formal thing will be that there will be a motion schedule. Thats where the defense will lay out a motion to dismiss other motions. They you know, suggested, trump suggests there could be a motion for a change of venue. All of that will be determined now that they have the indictment and see the exact charges. That theyre facing the next Court Appearance in this case is not until december, and then the judge said he will decide those motions. Also up in the air is the trial date prosecutors that they wanted it for january, 2024, trumps lawyer said spring of 2024 was more likely well carry you were one of the few reporters allowed in that courtroom today. Take us inside what happened . In that courtroom. When donald trump when the doors open, and he appeared you could hear a pin drop. It was absolutely silent. He walked very slowly down the long the ill wait between the roads. The roads were packed with reporters, he appeared to have a scowl on his face, and he was scanning each row side by side seeming to look at who was there in attendance. Then you know, he sat down. He was mostly looking forward. He spoke only to the judge. When addressed when he was asked to enter a plea. He said himself that he was not guilty. He also said he understood the potential conflicts and that he was entitled to a conflict free representation. Otherwise he seemed to be a little bit hunched forward. While they were talking. He looked over at the photographers when they were taking the pictures at the start of it, and then he walked slowly out of the courtroom again. Scanning the room to see who was there in attendance. Wolf all right, kara scannell. Excellent reporting. Thank you very, very much. I want to bring in jeff zeleny. Right now. Hes outside trump tower in new york. Jeff the former president , hes on his way back to maralago down in florida right now getting ready to make whats being described as a major speech later tonight. What are you hearing from the trump team . Well if we do know that former President Donald Trump had initially planned to make a Brief Comment at the courthouse, he did not do that, but i am told by his advisors. He is not going to hold back this evening when he addresses the nation from maralago, offering a full throated defense of these charges against him. In fact, just a few moments ago his campaign sent out yet another fundraising appeal. Theyve been doing them. Virtually most every hour for the last several days, and he writes this as i fly back home to maralago. Were living through the darkest hours in American History. But he adds, i am in great spirits, so certainly im told by talking to advisers, he will have a defiant tone. Even though you can you can clearly see by the look on his face in the courtroom as carol was just describing their this absolutely took him aback. He was sitting in a legal proceeding. He had no control over what was going on. He was really alone in ways that he has not been for, certainly since hes been president. And even long before that. We also though, got a glimpse from his new Defense Attorney, todd blanche, about his clients defiance. Lets take a listen. Hes frustrated. Hes upset, but ill tell you what hes motivated. And its not going to stop him and its not going to slow him down and its exactly what he expected. And so to that extent, theres no surprise. So his Defense Attorney there said. In fact, the former president is motivated by these charges against him and wolf. We know talking to advisers throughout the day here at trump tower, where the former president spent about 21 hours or so since arriving here yesterday. Hes also thinking about the other legal cases that are looming around him. That case in georgia, a couple of cases in washington in Federal Court as well. So his advisers expect him to sort of wrap all of this together in his speech from maralago this evening, saying that he is the victim of all of this, so there is no doubt that at least for a moment he has frozen his president ial campaign in place is the republican frontrunner without a doubt, but it is also clear that this legal case the courtroom now is a central stop on the campaign trail. But look for tonights speech to not be about the nuances of the law if they should throw these cases out, but about his politics and why he believes he should be the republican nominee, and indeed the next president , he certainly didnt look like he was in great spirits, as his lawyer suggested , are jeff zeleny and in new york. Thank you very, very much aaron back to you. All right. And you know, as wolf and jeff are talking about, right, clearly, not in high spirits, not a situation you want to be in and yet now they can go through these documents themselves. The indictment itself as well as the statement of facts. Joining me now, karin agness follow ryan goodman, karen finney, Jonah Goldberg and also joining us from london. Laura coates, so let me go Down The Line here, ryan, when you got a chance to look at this, you got 12 pages pages here for the actual statement of facts, right . Which, i guess is the talking indictment such that there is one and then youve got the actual six. 18 pages of copy and piece with different dates on Falsifying Business Documents in the first degree. What is there anything here . That surprised you either. This is stronger than i thought or no, this is weaker. Um a lot of it is unsurprising. A lot of it has been reported or is in the federal government documents. The pieces that were surprising to me are some of the evidence that they have, um and the District Attorney said that he got more evidence than the federal government did or that his predecessor, god, and one of them is david pecker. So we all thought Michael Cohen is the centerpiece. David parker seems like a pretty important witness here having direct Conversation Part of this catch and kill scheme and hes there from the start there at this most important meeting of August 15 2002 months after trump announces that hes running for president just set up a catch and catch and kill scheme to suppress stories coming out. For the purpose of the election. Thats what the argument is. Assume thats what he has said before the grand jury. And then there are direct conversations between pecker and trump multiple times, including later on trump, inviting him once hes president for dinner to thank him for all his help during the campaign, thats powerful evidence because that goes to one of the key defenses that trump would have paid this money in any case. Just to suppress a bad story coming out for his family for melania and the like, right . Okay karen. Heres the thing, though, that i still am confused about and that is we know that Michael Cohen himself has said that this catch and kill scheme was in place prior to 2007 when he joined the Trump Organization, which obviously is before trump was a candidate. We also know from the ap in Washington Post reporting that trump team trump, including cohen, pressured in touch magazine. Ah with money to not print the Stormy Daniels story 2011 again. Trump was not a candidate. How do they get around it and make this this was for the election of predicate upon which the Felony Counts are charged. So i think that way they can show that is the timing , in particular the fact that the money and the agreement was right before the election. It was, i think a couple of weeks before daniel specific exactly, and i think i think the conversations that it was about the election also. So that that ryan just talked about, i think really is going to be powerful evidence here. To show that this wasnt for some other purpose. This was clearly about the election. Then of course, as ryan just said that the thank you for helping me win Office Dinner afterward. And i think those are those are the timing of this, i think is critical. Alright so the timing is critical. Laura coates. Let me ask you, though, if trump can make the case that he would have done it anyway. But then brad can say, but in this case, part of your motivation was the election even though you would have done it anyway. Is that enough to sustain 34 Felony Counts of Falsifying Business Documents in the case theyre making depending on the strength and what they actually ultimately present. Remember erin right now we do have this very bare bones indictment, which i should add it is not required for a prosecutor to give the entire entirety of their entire argument their entire trial. Thats really what we want to consume as part of the court of Public Opinion, but they have no requirement to give everything has given notice an opportunity to be heard a kind of due process, and theres been a lot said today, erin about the fact that well, this obviously is for the federal government will listen. Theyre talking about a thing called preemption. Which means that listen, the federal government they have their role. There are federal laws and you have state courts and state laws and one has to stay in their lanes. But although the fcc has been very clear over time, the Campaign Contribution world is our own. There are things that they will not preempt in. One of them is a candidates personal Financial Disclosure as one there are other areas in state law that might allude to the fact that look, its about Campaign Finance, but not right under. Er, the wheelhouse of your laws. There have been courts to uphold the ability of the State Prosecutor to do those things. And so i know this is not as serious too many as a january 6th insurrection or the transition of power from one president to another. But as alvin bragg detailed youre still talking about transparency and disclosure and the ability to know how money is being spent for what purpose for the transparent benefit of the electorate that appears to be the lane there in in new york state, and thats where theyre following right now, but i fully admit this is quite the achilles heel. The more youre explaining in politics, the more youre losing, then were trying to explain the nuance of a law in a courtroom. The lesser jury is enticed into convicting will have to overcome quite a bit today. But finally erin think about it in American History. Voters have not been averse to trying to re elect or elect a candidate when there is consensual Sexual Activity involved. I point to president bill clinton, who was reelected even after admitting and lying and under oath. President trump. We knew about the Stormy Daniels accusations prior to millions of people even trying to get elected again so it doesnt have to be a fatal undermining of their candidacy. No and of course, being under indictment is no. It doesnt preclude you from anything. I absolutely not petrie, many others in American History is rife with that indictment in and of itself is not going to do it. Um i will say and this is, i guess a political question. I read through both the indictment and the statement of facts and karen. Ill be honest. I kind of thought i would see something new. And maybe weve been talking about it so much. That was my mistake, but i really didnt is that good or bad . Well i think over the last week or so we have, you know, really distilled this down to Hush Money Payments. I do think its important that we go back to our democracy. And remember that this is information that the voters did not have when they went to the ballot in 2016, we will never, ever know if it would have had a bearing on the outcome of that election. The voters never had the opportunity for themselves to know that information when they went to vote, so i do think we need to remember that connection and yep, its rather unseemly to hear that then the president in the oval office, you know, was having the conversation with Michael Cohen about the payments. You know, thats not what the oval office is for, and unfortunately it follows a pattern. And this obviously, is the political, not the legal resident undermining our democracy. Okay this is true. Now i know, i know only thinking this if you say it, but then i think about things happening in the oval office that shouldnt have their of a sexual nature, jonah and im im thinking, okay. Clinton, jfk and thats just two of many, but i mean all due respect the lawyers, right. I mean, the im thinking about when trump is going to say tonight he wants to say there was no affair. Right he has been. Hes stuck to this and nobody is getting his back on that. Their defense legally is not their defense morally, and i dont know that he wants to be going into months of trial stuff, admitting to an affair or implicitly admitting to an affair while hes trying to run in the iowa caucuses, right, right, and that is, you know, i mean, theres been some extensive reporting in the atlantic, you know tim, alberta about the evangelical sort of turning away from him, but well hit pause on this because we will be back through this special coverage because coming up more on the historic arrest and arraignment of donald trump. Plus the former manhattan District Attorney, cyrus vance will be my guest. Now as you know, he initially opened this investigation into the former p