Video

'He's known for throwing things': Trump aide describes how ex-president reacted to verdict

Donald Trump was likely not very happy when he heard a jury found that he owed E. Jean Carroll more than $83 million, according to a former Trump administration official.

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham appeared on MSNBC's Alex Witt Reports on Saturday, and was asked about how she thought the ex-president would have responded to the massive damages award.

Keep reading... Show less

'We got caught': Trump's team reportedly 'very surprised' by huge E. Jean Carroll ruling

Donald Trump's team was "very surprised" by the $83.3 million damages ruling in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case, and those close to the former president see a need to recalibrate their approach, according to a reporter on Saturday.

The Guardian's Hugh Lowell appeared on MSNBC's Alex Witt Reports, where he was asked about how Lowell's sources close to Trump viewed the recent Carroll decision. The host asked him if the massive number is "even being seen as something that will effectively rein Donald Trump."

Keep reading... Show less

'The jury didn't like that': Legal expert shows how Trump's defamation damages skyrocketed

Donald Trump and his team did a number of things in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case that made the jury prop up a punitive damages award that otherwise could have been lower, a former prosecutor said on Saturday.

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance appeared on MSNBC's Alex Witt Reports, where she was asked about the recent $83.3 million jury award against the ex-president. Specifically, the host asked about the impacts of Trump's behavior, as well as whether the verdict reflected the jurors' view on "victim shaming."

Keep reading... Show less

'He slurs his words, he gets confused': Columnist makes case Trump has 'a screw loose'

Appearing on MSNBC with host Ali Velshi, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin claimed Donald Trump is finally running into some major headwinds as he makes his third run for the presidency and a major one is questions about his mental decline.

According to the journalist, even Republicans are starting to admit the former president is not all there — something that has become a major talking point in South Carolina Republican Nikki Haley's campaign.

Pointing to President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, she told the host, "The economy is pretty good and it's been good for a while, of course, but you wouldn't know it from some of the coverage. Now, I think that has shifted quite dramatically and Biden is getting some recognition."

ALSO READ: Why Trump was the worst boss ever — according to 12 of his top White House officials

Adding, "I think there's a lot of things that we don't normally credit with for President Biden, and the last is that it's becoming pretty apparent, even to Republicans, that he [Trump] has got a screw loose."

"He slurs his words, he gets confused. That's what Nikki Haley has been exploiting finally," she elaborated. "It's not going to help her with the Republican base, but it sure is going to provide a lot of material for President Biden in the general election."

Watch below or at the link.

Keep reading... Show less

Trump in danger of donor 'backlash' after E. Jean Carroll debacle: legal analyst

Asked if Donald Trump can use campaign contributions and other funds given to him by donors to pay a part or the total $83.3 million due to E. Jean Carroll for defaming her, MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos claimed the law is unsettled but the former president may find his donors less than forgiving.

Appearing less than 24 hours after a Manhattan jury brought the hammer down on Trump for his attacks on the New York writer, Cevallos was asked by MSNBC host Ali Velshi if the former president can tap donor funds to at the very least pay a portion of the judgment.

According to the legal analyst, Trump will have to tread carefully to avoid a "backlash" from supporters.

"We are in unprecedented territory where you have a political candidate who has massive judgments and possibly, eventually criminal court fines and he may be using those same funds to pay off those fines and or judgments," he told host Velshi.

Keep reading... Show less

'Overleveraged' Trump has a major money problem after $83.3 million judgment: attorney

Appearing as a guest on MSNBC's "The Weekend," host of her own MSNBC show Katie Phang explained that the $83.3 million judgment Donald Trump was slapped with by the jurors in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial likely not only plunged his finances into turmoil but may make it near impossible to for him to get outside help.

Speaking with the hosts, Phang, a former prosecutor, explained the hoops Trump will have to jump through to come up with the entire amount to go into a trust if he appeals the devastating verdict, which he has indicated he will do, or to convince a bonding company to help him out.

'He could use real estate properties," she suggested. "But the problem for Donald Trump's leverage is he is overleveraging himself, and that is what got him into trouble in the first place with the New York Attorney General's case for the civil fraud."

"Well, there is that saying the numbers don't lie. They don't, they are what they are" Phang later added. "That's kind of what got Donald Trump into trouble with the New York Attorney General's office. But to your question, Donald Trump has said that he has $400 million in liquid cash to be able to access — that does not include the totality of his assets which is a real estate portfolio other investments that he has."

ALSO READ: Few Trumpers who embrace political violence understand its endgame

"You know it is the cumulative effect of whether or not it is enough to make a dent in his net worth. I think that your net worth, especially for someone like Donald Trump, isn't just cash on hand. Your net worth also includes whether people think that you're a risk, a risk worth taking. So, putting aside what a success is with the New York AG's case and whether he's able to survive what they called a corporate death penalty to be able to do business in the state of New York, is Donald Trump a worthwhile risk if you are a person in the world of finance and business?"

"Is the kind of person that you think is going to be worth taking a gamble on to loan money to; to be able to invest with to continue to maybe make a profit with," she added. "We have seen him file bankruptcies. We have seen him fail miserably as a businessman. So despite his attestations or his protestations that he is worth a lot of money, that his brand is valuable, and then he's quote 'the richest man in the world' because of that brand, the reality comes crashing down for him because it is not."

Keep reading... Show less

'Performative' Alina Habba cost Trump 'an incredible amount of money': ex-GOP official

Donald Trump attorney Alina Habba's abrasive behavior and her decision to defend the former president in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial with an eye on pleasing him, and not trying to convince a jury, in the end cost her client tens of millions of dollars..

That is the opinion of former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele, which he explained as part of his duties hosting MSNBC's "The Weekend."

During a panel discussion on the stunning $83.3 million judgment levied against the former president on Friday, Steele stated he wanted to focus on Habba and shared a clip of her combative impromptu press conference outside the courthouse after the verdict was read.

Noting that Habba claimed defending Trump was "the proudest thing I could ever do," Steele reminded viewers of Habba's previous claims that she would rather be "pretty than smart" to which she replied, "pretty" because she can "fake being smart."

After introducing the clip by stating, "One of the things I found very fascinating as we looked at the professionals in the room, E. Jean Carroll's lawyer, and those who were laying out the case before the judge, the jury, and then there is Alina Habba, I would like to play her response to this verdict," he continued afterward with, "I recall a comment that she made at one point where she was asked, would you rather be pretty or smart, and a response was, I would rather be pretty because I can fake being smart."

Laughing he continued, "So the reality of it is that you need to be smart in the courtroom. You need to understand that her reaction a lot of times shocked."

ALSO READ: Why Trump was the worst boss ever — according to 12 of his top White House officials

"It was performative, and it was to appease Trump, it was not to deal with the facts that were at hand, and first off, this was not a case where you are trying to prevent him from being judged a sexual predator," he explained. "That had already taken place. This was about something very different. She seemed to be out of sorts with what her mission was, and actually wound up costing her client I think an incredible amount of money."

Keep reading... Show less

‘Reality Check’: Buttigieg busts Republican’s claim of infrastructure support

U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) was served a "reality check" by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Friday, after the pro-Trump election-denying Republican repeatedly took credit this week for a massive infrastructure project in his home state, funded by President Joe Biden's legislation the Minnesota Congressman voted against.

"Reality check: I approved this because it’s a deserving project, consistent with President Biden’s priorities. This is happening because the Biden infrastructure package passed, despite your 'no' vote," wrote Secretary Buttigieg on social media, in response to Rep. Staubert's video providing what he claimed was a "fact check."

Keep reading... Show less

'That's actually not the case': Ex-Trump campaign adviser shut down by Anderson Cooper

Appeal or no appeal, Trump lost and is going to have to pay something after Friday's loss in court.

But ex-aide to the former president David Urban appeared to stand corrected by CNN's Anderson Cooper when he implied there was a chance to reverse the verdict.

Keep reading... Show less

'I would regret having her represent him': Trump's ex-lawyer slams Alina Habba's blunder

Trump might as well have been defending himself.

That was the sentiment offered by his former attorney Timothy Parlatore during an interview with Kaitlan Collins on CNN's "The Source" after a jury in New York federal court took three hours to award an $83.3 million sum in favor of the former president's sexual assault accuser E. Jean Carroll.

Keep reading... Show less

Trump in for 'rude awakening' when these cases 'hit him where it hurts': legal expert

Former President Donald Trump is getting hit in the pocketbook in a painful way that he never has been before, attorney and legal expert Katie Phang told MSNBC's Alex Witt on Friday evening — both in the new $83.3 million judgment for defamation of E. Jean Carroll, and more civil litigation still to come.

"This is money for defaming Ms. Carroll ... and the price tag here is extraordinary," said Witt. "But I wonder if you can talk a little bit about your expectations for how Donald Trump actually coughs up this money, and whether this is held in escrow, whether he seeks, alone given what happened in previous civil trials."

Keep reading... Show less

'Smoke and mirrors': Trump biographer spills insider details on ex-president's finances

Trump may need to put his money where his mouth is.

David Johnston, the author who penned the biography "The Making Of Donald Trump," suspects the $83.3 million a nine-member jury verdict in the second defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll against Donald Trump will force him to prove he has the coin.

Keep reading... Show less

E. Jean Carroll's lawyer puts Trump on notice about a new potential lawsuit

Trump's accuser hit him where it hurts — his bottom line.

Roberta Kaplan, attorney for E. Jean Carroll, believes money may talk, but it also silences.

Keep reading... Show less