MSNBC host and chief legal correspondent Ari Melber spoke with his colleague Nicolle Wallace in the immediate aftermath of the news breaking that former President Donald Trump had been indicted in New York over his alleged role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The conversation began with a focus on Trump’s former, longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, who served jail time in part for making the payment to Daniels and who has since become a fierce critic of Trump.
Wallace detailed how Cohen served time for Trump, which she claimed was one of many common themes regarding Trump’s legal trouble.
“Because it’s Trump there are human beings that were viewed as disposable to Trump, people who were once very close advisers. There is always a [Bill] Barr story or angle. There’s oddly always an SDNY thread. There’s always an open question for Merrick Garland about what happened to these federal cases,” Wallace began.
“Yeah, And as you say, and Michael alluded to it earlier, Nicolle, there are other allegations,” Melber replied, adding:
There’s other criminal evidence of matters that could be more serious. You know, when people say, ‘Don’t make a federal case out of it,’ there’s a very serious open federal case regarding the insurrection against the United States, including a convicted sedition, and whether the tentacles of that reach back into Donald Trump’s White House. As of now, no one that worked for him directly or he, has been charged or held accountable for that. But I guess…
Wallace jumped back in saying, “Yeah, but I mean, if you and I did all three of these things right, if you and I silenced a porn star to benefit our presidential campaign, if you and I incited a deadly insurrection, and if you and I took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago and said they’re mine because I thought them declassified, we would be criminally exposed in all three jurisdictions, state and federal.
“It’s only in conversations about Donald Trump that people are like, ‘Well, let’s go with the best one.’ And frankly, that analysis has shifted to until classified documents are found at Pence’s home and Biden’s library, people thought Mar-a-Lago was the strongest prosecution. So, you know, I’m not a lawyer, you are. But people should follow the facts and treat everybody the same. If you prosecute me, you should prosecute an ex-president,” Wallace concluded.
“Right. I think where we go now is we’re in a dividing line. March 30th is the first day of the rest of Donald Trump’s life,” Melber replied, adding:
In a sense, it may be the first day in the rest of this political era we have been living through because the seal is broken. It shows he can be charged. He is legally presumed innocent and entitled to all of the rights that you are supposed to get, even rights that he quite publicly as president, tried to deny others because it is the rule of law. And we are trying to have, upholding civilized court process even for people who wouldn’t give it to others.
Having said that, I think tomorrow and the days ahead are going to be very difficult for him. And other prosecutors don’t even have to weigh what, you know, lawyers call it ‘prudential.’ That just means not legal, the other considerations. No other prosecutor now will ever have to weigh again the, quote, ‘prudential question of the first indictment of a former president,’ because that’s done.
“That’s been answered. The novelty is gone, which is just amazing in and of itself,” Wallace replied, emphasizing the historic nature of Trump’s indictment.
“Yeah. So it’s a novel night here in America,” Melber concluded, before thanking Wallace and beginning his show.
Watch the full clip above via MSNBC.
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