Summary
Transcript
And most judges often get in trouble, meaning open themselves up to appeal when they are too tolerant. So he basically should have said yesterday, Mr. Trump, I respect your right to speak to me. You already were on the witness stand twice, and you have a superb team of lawyers here. They’ll make the closing argument. But once he opened up the door and allowed the former president to begin speaking to him directly, and I read the transcript, but it was Donald Trump speaking from his heart, believing that he really is wronged and aggrieved here, that there are no victims in this case except for him.
It caused the judge to cut him off, and it was an act of rudeness that shouldn’t have happened, meaning it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. There was no reason for the former president to make the statement. But once he made the statement, cutting him off is bad policy. So Donald Trump, he could make history here in New York state if he’s found guilty, guilty of a victimless crime.
All the banks were paid back. Everybody that loaned Trump organization money got back their initial payment with interest, but the judge. So Donald Trump, wanting to deliver a closing argument. There’s some history with Trump and that. Can you tell us about that? Because basically, if you make a closing argument, you can’t be cross examined, correct? So you can say whatever you want. The most famous case of this is Trump’s mentor, Roy Cohn, the great New York City former federal prosecutor and lawyer, a brilliant lawyer with a photographic memory, is on trial for income tax evasion by the former prosecutors that he used to work with.
He’s now the defendant. First trial, hung jury. Second trial, hung jury. Third trial, he doesn’t testify. The day of closing arguments, he says to his lawyer, get sick. They walk in the courtroom. It’s time for the defense to make the closing argument. The defendant stands up. First time anybody in the courtroom hears his voice says, your honor, I’m so sorry, my lawyer is sick. Instead of wasting time, I’ll make the closing argument for him.
Before anybody realizes what’s happening, Roy is testifying in his own behalf. The next day, he’s found not guilty. I am certain he told that story to Donald Trump. Now, I have one correction, if I could. Far be it from me. And he and Trump were friends. He was Trump’s most astute mentor, seventy s and eighty s, and Trump was his favorite client, if I may make one correct, if it’s a correct, to my humble anchor here, Trump is not being accused of a crime.
This is not a victimless crime. It is not a crime. It is civil fraud. And there absolutely are no victims. So the statement that we just ran of Letitia James is so far off track. The only alleged victim out of her own mouth here is Deutsche bank. Well, the senior vice president Deutsche bank got on the witness stand and said not only did we not lose any money, we made a lot of money and we would work with the Trump Organization again tomorrow.
That’s the crux of it to, so, and I’m paraphrasing, but Deutsche bank basically said they were like, well, would you do president with the business with the president and his organization in the future? And he was like, yes, absolutely. Worked out great for us. I want to ask you, though, about Ladybank, which is strange because she says that this is not political, yet she ran her campaign saying that she would get Donald Trump.
He would know her name by the end of this. Running a campaign on the fact that you will, quote, get Donald Trump. Isn’t that political? Yes. It’s a defect in the system, charlote. And it’s been, this is the law in new York for over 100 years. Prosecutors, the attorney general, judges run for office and they make political promises when they do so, if I may, the preferred system, in my view, is the federal system, the system we have in New Jersey, in 14 other states, where you are scrutinized by the bar association, scrutinized by the people appointing you, and then you’re appointed for office.
There are no political promises. She made a promise. She delivered on it. Trump is the victim of that promise. .