Aurora, Colorado police held a press conference on Friday to update the public on a tragic shooting that claimed the lives of 12 victims and wounded 50 others at a movie theater screening "The Dark Knight Rises."
More information on the shooting can be found here.
Watch live, broadcast on MSNBC on July 20.
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In the immediate days before he was indicted in New York for his $130,000 hush payment scheme to adult film star Stormy Daniels, former President Donald Trump really thought he had defeated Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and his public offensives had gotten him off scot-free.
That's what Michael Cohen, the former Trump attorney who went to prison over his role in the scheme and later cooperated against his former boss, told MSNBC's Joy Reid on Friday.
"You know, what's interesting is ... Donald Trump's attorneys were blindsided by this announcement, to the point where Donald Trump was actually praising the grand jury and saying, look, I have new respect for this grand jury, they're not going to indict me at all," said Reid. "And obviously, the [D.A.]'s office was very stealthy about making sure they had no idea that it was coming, even though he previously predicted he was going to get indicted. Do you think he was genuinely shocked and really believed he had beaten it?"
"Yeah, because again, Donald lives in Donald's head," said Cohen. and the fact that you had people like [Trump attorney] Tacopina and people like [former Cohen adviser] Bob Costello and a whole slew of other pundits on this station, as well as other stations telling you, for example, Bob Costello went in to testify, all of a sudden, he's now impeached my credibility. Obviously, we know that's not true. In fact, nothing that he said clearly changed anybody's mind."
READ: Marjorie Taylor Greene makes a bizarre claim about 'Transtifa' being behind 'insurrections'
"However, they have the same thing with Tacopina," Cohen continued. "He comes out there and says, well, after Donald of course puts it out there that he's going to get indicted last Tuesday, rakes in another $2.5 million in campaign donations, and then you have guys like Tacopina running around and saying, there's more than a 50/50 chance that Alvin Bragg is going to drop this case altogether that Michael Cohen's testimony has now been basically disparaged to the extent that there is no more case. And more than 50 percent likely that Alvin Bragg is going to drop the case."
"They do this because they think that by playing, you know, the media game, that they're appealing to a court of public opinion, that that has any bearing on a court of law," added Cohen. "And we all know that it doesn't."
Watch the segment below or at this link.
Michael Cohen says Trump thought he'd beaten Alvin Bragg www.youtube.com
Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday blamed nonbinary people and progressive activists for America’s political unrest.
The far-right congresswoman from Georgia alleged that “Transtifa” is behind insurrections in a bizarre 71-word tweet in which she also expressed support for a man who pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges in connection with a scheme to misinform voters.
“Transtifa is organizing insurrections,” Greene tweeted.
“Biden wants to disarm Americans instead of ending gun-free school zones. The Yuan is rising and the dollar is falling. Our border is invaded every day by people from 170 countries and deadly fentanyl is killing over 300 Americans daily. And the Biden regime is arresting its political enemies daily.
“President Trump has been indicted and tragically Douglas Mackey has been convicted for posting a meme.”
READ: 'Almost crying' Lindsey Graham ridiculed for Trump indictment meltdown
Greene’s assertion that ‘Transtifa’ is behind the insurrections comes just a week after she insisted that the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was not an insurrection.
“Now for two years, we’ve heard the story from the people on the Jan. 6 committee, we’ve heard the story about how it was an insurrection and I’m gonna tell you something right now, it was not an insurrection,” Greene told reporters last week during a visit to a Washington D.C. jail. where 20 Jan. 6 defendants are being held.
Greene earlier on Friday implied that the impeachment of former President Donald Trump was cause for payback.
"Impeach Biden," Greene tweeted.
"He’s given us every reason and the family banking records and more are giving us receipts. But now that the gloves are off.. Prosecute any and all crimes. Enough of this witch hunt (expletive).
ALSO IN THE NEWS: Audio tape of Trump is devastating for his case — and supports Michael Cohen: former prosecutor
Bringing Donald Trump to a Manhattan courthouse next week for his arraignment presents unique security challenges, but that's not a former top law enforcement official's biggest concern.
The former president plans to fly to New York on Monday before appearing in court the next day to face as-of-yet unknown charges in connection with alleged hush money payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels, The Washington Post reports.
On Friday, Secret Service agents toured the courthouse to map out a path for Trump’s court appearance, the report said.
“This particular event is unprecedented involving the president, but we know how to handle the UN General Assemblies,” former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said Friday during an appearance on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blizter.
“The NYPD knows how to handle high profile defendants who are arraigned at 100 Center Street, so I'm confident that this will be a well-orchestrated, well-organized event with lots of security.”
But Johnson's biggest concern is the former president's fiery rhetoric.
“What goes through my mind well, frankly, is something on a national level. I'm very concerned about the former president's rhetoric right now,” Johnson said.
READ: We played Trump’s J6 Choir song for members of Congress — here’s how they reacted
“Phrases like ‘death and destruction,’ and referring to the Manhattan DA as an ‘animal.’ His rhetoric has abandoned all sorts of moderation. and we've kind of seen this before in the run up to January 6.
“No mention of peaceful demonstrations, if anyone is inclined to come out and demonstrate on his behalf, and I'm very concerned that some form of violence someplace would be inevitable as a result of this.”
Trump on Friday found a new target for his attacks: New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
“The Judge ‘assigned’ to my Witch Hunt Case, a ‘Case’ that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME,” Trump posted on his Truth Social website.
“His name is Juan Manuel Marchan, was hand-picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who ‘railroaded’ my 75-year-old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a ‘plea’ deal (Plead GUILTY, even if you are not, 90 DAYS, fight us in Court, 10 years (life!) in jail. He stron- armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didn't ‘plead,’ VICIOUSLY. APPEALING!”
RELATED: Audio tape of Trump is devastating for his case — and supports Michael Cohen: former prosecutor
Trump’s statements typify the rhetoric that has Johnson alarmed.
“His base may be shrinking, but it only takes one or two, as you know,” Johnson said.
“And so, this type of rhetoric makes behavior acceptable that shouldn't be acceptable, and for the deranged among us, violence inevitable.”
Watch video below or at this link.
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