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Takeaways from Trump’s roller-coaster day in court: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, White House reporter Katherine Doyle reports from a New York courtroom on Donald Trump’s whirlwind day on the legal front. Plus, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell breaks down the fresh tensions between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu.
The key takeaways from Trump’s day in court
By Katherine Doyle
Monday was a bit of a roller coaster for Donald Trump on the legal front.
Trump’s defense team failed to persuade Judge Juan Merchan to add more time to the clock before the start of the trial in Trump’s New York hush money case, with the former president shaking his head in apparent frustration during the hearing as the judge set a date next month for the start of jury selection.
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But in another court on Monday, Trump earned a major reprieve for the bond he was supposed to deliver as part of the civil case he lost.
Here are the key takeaways from Trump’s day in court:
Trump’s delay efforts fall short: Trump had successfully moved back the start of the hush money case, which was originally set for Monday. But his efforts to delay the trial even further were thwarted, with Merchan scheduling it to begin on April 15.
Trump didn’t have to be in the courtroom Monday. When the historic trial begins in three weeks, though, he will be required to attend each day, which could hamper his campaign activity.
Trump didn’t hide his true feelings: Before entering the courtroom, he called the case “a witch hunt” and “a hoax.” He furrowed his brow. He watched the judge press his defense counsel as he argued for more time to review discovery documents. And he grew increasingly frustrated as the defense failed to persuade the judge that more time was needed.
Wearing a navy suit and red tie, Trump sat between his attorneys, his eyes bloodshot. As Merchan spoke, Trump leaned back from the defense table and narrowed his gaze. Exiting the courtroom at the start of a 45-minute recess, Trump scowled and furrowed his brow again.
Trump scores a win in another case: Outside of Merchan’s courtroom, though, Trump notched a victory.
A state appeals court ruled that he and his co-defendants in a New York civil fraud case could post a lower bond, slashing the judgment from $464 million to $175 million and delaying any possible move by Attorney General Letitia James to seize his assets. They have 10 days to post the bond.
Read more here →
A fresh split emerges between Biden and Netanyahu
Analysis by Andrea Mitchell
Tensions erupted again Monday between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the U.S. — for the first time — allowed a U.N. resolution that Israel had opposed calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza to pass.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. abstained because the resolution did not condemn Hamas for its Oct. 7 massacre, but did not veto it since the U.S. agrees with the resolution’s call for an extended cease-fire and hostage release. Netanyahu was furious that the U.S. did not use its veto to block the resolution, Israeli sources tell NBC News, and he immediately canceled a planned White House visit this week by his closest adviser, Ron Dermer.
The breach over the resolution came as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a team were already at the Pentagon. Their trip, along with Dermer’s, had been arranged at the behest of Biden in a call with Netanyahu last week, their first in more than a month. Senior officials told NBC News that Biden wanted to repair damage caused days earlier when he had praised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech excoriating Netanyahu’s conduct of the war and calling for new Israeli elections.
Hoping to smooth over their differences, senior officials told NBC News that Biden told Netanyahu he disagreed with Schumer’s call for elections, but still urged him not to invade Rafah, suggesting he send a delegation to Washington to hear alternatives. But the U.S. failure to block the U.N. resolution prompted Netanyahu to cancel Dermer’s trip, despite another member of his war Cabinet, opposition minister Benny Gantz, saying that direct dialogue is so important that Netanyahu himself should come to the U.S.
Biden’s disagreements with Netanyahu and his right-wing Cabinet have also caused the U.S. to sanction Jewish settlers in the West Bank after Israel failed to prevent violent attacks on Palestinian residents. All this has forced Biden to walk a deeply personal and politically charged tightrope between his long-held emotional commitment to Israel — causing him to reject canceling or conditioning arms sales — with his abhorrence of the civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Those conflicting convictions have put Biden in a nearly impossible choice between progressive Democrats furious over the devastation in Gaza and a larger group of voters who fully support Israel at all costs as he enters the heat of his re-election campaign.
🗞️ Today’s top stories
- 💰 Money trees: Trump’s media company is set to make its debut on the stock market Tuesday, a development that could generate a windfall for the cash-strapped former president. Trump also said that he “might” spend his own money on his campaign, which he hasn’t done since 2016. Read more →
- ⚖️ On the docket: The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday in a case challenging the abortion pill mifepristone. The justices’ decision in the case could have significant effects on the pharmaceutical industry and spark challenges to scores of other drugs. Read more →
- 👀 Watch this space: The Washington Post dives into Tuesday’s special legislative election in Alabama, which will test the electoral power of reproductive health, specifically in-vitro fertilization, after the state’s high court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children. Read more →
- 😡 Now we got bad blood: The ongoing feud between former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., escalated over the weekend, as McCarthy accused Gaetz of ousting him because he would not intervene in an Ethics Committee probe of the Florida congressman. Read more →
- 🔥 Getting heated in Florida: Florida Democrats on Sunday ousted the chair of the Miami-Dade County Party amid GOP gains in South Florida in recent elections. Read more → 🌹
- Garden State drama: New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy announced Sunday she is ending her Senate bid, paving the way for Rep. Andy Kim to secure the Democratic nomination as he continues to battle the party machine in court. Read more →
That’s all from The Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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5 key moments from Trump’s Monday in court for hush money case
Donald Trump’s defense team failed to persuade Judge Juan Merchan to add more time to the clock before the start of the trial in Trump’s New York hush money case, the former president shaking his head in apparent frustration during Monday’s hearing as the judge set a date next month for the start of jury selection.
There was little to ease Trump’s mood inside the courtroom where the defense pleaded for time to parse the 170,000 pages of documents in the case handed over to them more than a week earlier.
The case relates to a $130,000 payment from former Trump fixer Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with Trump, to allegedly buy her silence during the 2016 presidential campaign. The DA alleges Trump falsified business records to obscure the money used to repay Cohen for those payments.
Seated behind prosecutors in the courtroom was the top prosecutor who brought the case against Trump, District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The morning may have been a bit of a rollercoaster for the former president. In a separate court on Monday, Trump earned a major reprieve for the bond he was supposed to deliver as part of the civil case he lost.
Here’s what happened on Monday in Trump’s legal cases:
An April 15 trial date
Merchan set April 15 for jury selection to begin, three weeks away, setting in motion the start of a trial that Trump’s attorneys had hoped to delay further.
Trump was livid
In the courtroom, Trump didn’t hide how he feels about the case.
Before entering the courtroom, he called it a witch hunt” and “a hoax.” He furrowed his brow. He watched the judge press his defense counsel as the attorney argued for more time to review discovery documents. And he grew increasingly frustrated as the defense failed to persuade the judge that more time was needed to review documents in the case.
Wearing a navy suit and red tie, Trump sat between his attorneys, his eyes bloodshot. But Trump didn’t have to be here to watch Merchan as the judge cited parts of the defense brief and prosecutors’ submissions before pressing his attorneys about the timing of their decision to raise their discovery concerns. When the trial begins in less than three weeks, he will be required to attend each day.
Bragg’s office had urged the judge not to delay the trial, arguing that just 300 of the 170,000 documents turned over by federal prosecutors are relevant to Trump’s defense.
Merchan said the charge by Trump’s lawyer was not convincing. “Why did you wait until two months before trial. Why didn’t you do it in June or July?” Merchan said.
As Merchan spoke, Trump leaned back from the defense table and narrowed his gaze. Exiting the courtroom at the start of a 45-minute recess, Trump scowled and furrowed his brow.
The optics inside the courtroom
Three Secret Service agents watched over the former president in the courtroom, drawing more attention to the historic nature of the case.
Exiting the courtroom at the end of the hearing, Trump mouthed ‘thank you’ twice to a group of five women seated in a back row. It was unclear if the women were supporters of the former president. Asked, one of the women said no. But Trump had appeared to recognize the group locking eyes with them as he left for the day.
Earlier, as Bragg walked through the courtroom to take his seat behind the prosecutors’ bench, one of the women appeared to heckle him quietly.
Judge pressed Trump’s lawyers
In a series of rapid-fire exchanges, Merchan pressed Blanche over the defense’s claims over the number of documents they needed to review, and prosecutors for Bragg disputed that they were “actively suppressing discovery,” as Trump’s team has alleged.
Trump’s lead attorney turned in circles as the judge pressed him to answer the question of exactly how many documents relevant to the case the defense needed to review.
“Give me your best estimate. I realize you’re still going through it,” Merchan said.
“I mean thousands,” Blanche responded. “Thousands.”
Merchan urged Blanche to settle on a firm number. “2,000? 20,000?” he said.
“Tens of thousands is the answer, your honor,” said Blanche.
Trump watched the arguments closely, whispering to the attorneys around him after the back-and-forth grew heated, and Blanche, his attorney, returned to the table.
At one point, Trump seemed to pass a message to Blanche, before his attorney stood to press the issue further with the judge, citing the Mueller probe, the Access Hollywood tape, and more. “We want to be accurate, every document is important,” Blanche insisted.
Merchan was unpersuaded by the defense’s arguments.
“It’s odd that we’re even here, and that we’ve taken this time,” he said.
Returning from recess, Merchan ruled that the DA’s office was not at fault for the late production of documents, and had made “diligent, good faith efforts” to provide the materials to the team.
From the defense table, Trump shook his head.
Trump scored a win in fraud case
Trump scored a victory outside Merchan’s courtroom when a state appeals court ruled that he and his co-defendants in a New York civil fraud case could post a lower bond, slashing the judgment from $464 million to $175 million and delaying any possible move by Attorney General Letitia James to seize his assets.
N.Y. appeals court reduces Trump’s bond in his civil fraud case to $175 million, a victory for the former president
A state appeals court ruled that Donald Trump and his co-defendants in the New York civil fraud case have 10 days to post a $175 million bond, down from the $464 million judgment that was originally due Monday.
The 11th-hour ruling from a panel of state Appellate Division judges is a major victory and relief for the former president, whose attorneys had said coming up with the larger bond was a “practical impossibility.” The ruling also means state Attorney General Letitia James’ office cannot yet begin collecting on the judgment.
Before Monday’s ruling, Trump was liable for $454 million, most of the fraud judgment, but the amount he owed had been increasing by more than $111,000 a day because of added interest.
Trump claimed on social media Friday that he had nearly $500 million in cash that he had planned to use toward his 2024 presidential campaign. The former president, however, hasn’t used his own money toward his presidential campaigns since 2016.
He had also floated the idea last week of mortgaging or selling off his properties, saying he would be forced to do so at “Fire Sale prices.”
His lawyers noted in court filings that bond companies typically “require collateral of approximately 120% of the amount of the judgment” — which in this case would total about $557 million.
Trump’s lawyers said in one filing a week ago that they hadn’t been able at that point to secure a bond, and believed it was “a practical impossibility.” They said that they approached 30 surety companies through four separate brokers, trying to negotiate with the world’s largest insurance companies.
The other bond companies will not “accept hard assets such as real estate as collateral,” but “will only accept cash or cash equivalents (such as marketable securities),” his lawyers said.
Trump’s lawyers had asked the state appeals court to either reduce the amount of money he had to post or stay the award without him posting any security while he appeals Engoron’s order.
The decision Monday also puts a stay on the part of the original judgment that barred Trump from serving as a public officer of a company, as well as the prohibitions placed on Weisselberg, McConney, Donald Trump Jr. And Eric Trump.
The court did not grant requests from Trump to prohibit the independent monitor or installing an independent director of compliance. The court also did not stay the provision prohibiting the defendants from borrowing from a financial institution registered or chartered in New York state.
The AG’s office brushed off Monday’s ruling in a statement, saying: “Donald Trump is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud. The court has already found that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization. The $464 million judgment — plus interest — against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands.”
Trump celebrated the ruling in a post on Truth Social, attacking Engoron and reiterating that he believes he did nothing wrong. Speaking to reporters outside an unrelated hearing in his New York criminal case, he called Engoron “a disgrace to this country.”
Alina Habba, the former president’s lawyer in the civil fraud case, said in a statement, “We are extremely pleased with the ruling issued by the Appellate Division. This monumental holding reigns in Judge Engoron’s verdict, which is an affront to all Americans. This is the first important step in fighting back against Letitia James and her targeted witch hunt against my client which started before she ever stepped foot in office.”
On Friday, Trump told Fox News he’d appeal Engoron’s ruling “all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.” He must first go through the state appeals court process before he can bring that challenge before the justices.
Trump has valued his brand at over $10 billion, but a 2021 financial statement put his net worth $4.5 billion. He has said that most of his assets are in real estate — not cash or stock — saying at a deposition in the fraud case last year, that he had “substantially in excess of $400 million in cash.”
Trump may have some financial relief coming in the near future.
On Friday, shareholders in Digital World Acquisition Corp. voted to approve a merger with the former president’s Trump Media & Technology Group, the private firm that owns his social media platform Truth Social.
Shares in the newly combined company, Trump Media, could begin to be publicly traded this week, and Trump would have nearly 80 million shares, estimated to be worth around $3 billion.
Under the terms of the merger, Trump is prohibited from selling shares in the merged company for at least six months, but the board of directors, which will likely include his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., could vote to allow him to sell shares earlier than that.
Deadline for Trump’s bond approaching
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Judge expected to set trial start date in Trump’s hush money case
Judge Juan Merchan is expected at Monday’s hearing to set a trial start date in the New York hush money case against former President Donald Trump.
Monday’s hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, comes after the trial was postponed until at least mid-April. The trial was originally slated to begin on Monday, but Merchan delayed the start date by 30 days after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the hush money case against Trump, said he did not oppose Trump’s request for a delay.
But Bragg’s office last week urged Merchan not to delay the trial further, arguing that fewer than 300 out of 170,000 documents turned over by federal prosecutors are relevant to Trump’s criminal defense.
Trump’s lawyers blamed Bragg’s office for not obtaining the documents sooner and requested Merchan dismiss the charges. The DA’s office pushed back, calling the focus on the documents release a “red herring.”
Merchan scheduled the hearing Monday to discuss document production in the case after Trump’s lawyers filed a motion on the matter. Merchan at the time said he would set a new trial date “if necessary” upon ruling on the motion by Trump’s lawyers.
Trump is expected to be in court on Monday.
The DA’s case alleged that Trump falsified business records in connection to $130,000 in hush money payments that his former lawyer Michael Cohen paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels on his behalf ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Daniels claimed she had an affair with Trump in 2006, after he had already married his wife, Melania Trump.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and denied that he slept with Daniels. He did, however, say he repaid Cohen.
Merchan last week rejected Trump’s request to prevent Cohen and Daniels from testifying in the hush money case. Trump’s lawyers had argued in a court filing last month that Cohen and Daniels should be barred from testifying because they are “liars.”
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to multiple criminal charges, including issuing secret payments to women who claimed they’d had affairs with Trump, making false claims to Congress about the then-president’s business dealings with Russia and failing to report millions of dollars in income.
The hush money case is among the four indictments Trump faces as he pursues another presidential bid. The hearing coincides with a Monday deadline for Trump to pay more than a $454 million bond in New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling in his state civil fraud trial. Trump has appealed the ruling and threatened to also challenge it “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.”
Adam Reiss, Dareh Gregorian, Tom Winter, Lisa Rubin and Cat Corrigan contributed.
‘As long as the donors know,’ it’s okay to pay Trump’s legal bills before RNC
Former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said on Sunday that it’s okay for money given to former President Donald Trump’s joint fundraising committee to flow first to a group that pays his legal bills as long as donors are informed.
“Is it appropriate for Donald Trump to ask donors to pay for his legal bills?” NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker asked.
“Well, I think as long as the donors know that that’s what they’re doing,” McDaniel responded.
McDaniel emphasized in the Sunday appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the donation “waterfall” ensures that Save America will continue to be the primary vehicle for Trump’s legal bills, meaning that neither Trump’s campaign nor the RNC will foot the bill for Trump’s legal troubles, which include four criminal indictments. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
A portion of the donations to the “Trump 47” joint fundraising committee will first flow to Save America PAC, a group that handles Trump’s legal fees before it flows to the RNC or state Republican parties, according to a donation contribution form obtained by NBC News.