Arthur Engoron

MSNBC Daily writer and editor Hayes Brown explained to host Ayman Mohyeldin that the gag orders against Donald Trump aren't working and he's not certain that even the federal one will at this point either.

"If anyone else was attacking figures like Judge Tanya Chutkan and [special counsel] Jack Smith, the truth is there would be a lot more trouble than a gag order, no?" Mohyeldin asked.

Donald Trump finally revealed what Michael Cohen said that made him think he was declared "innocent" during his New York fraud trial this week.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump ranted against Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron, two of his top foes, whom he has called everything from "crazy" to "racist."

Former prosecutor Glenn Kirschner explained why Donald Trump and his adult children are under intense pressure to tell the truth when they are forced to testify in his $250 million New York fraud trial.

During an interview on MSNBC, Kirschner said Trump — along with Ivanka, Don Jr., and Eric — were in danger of being hit with court sanctions for perjury.

According to one former Donald Trump White House official who spent a great deal of time around Ivanka Trump, she expects Trump's oldest daughter will stress making herself look good in a Manhattan courtroom next week at the expense of her family.

With Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric Trump scheduled to testify in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom this coming week as part of the $250 million civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews claimed she has a good idea what will transpire.

Speaking with MSNBC host Alex Witt, Matthews explained, "They are a close-knit family and while they have their issues, I don't know that she is going to want to put them in a bad situation and, obviously, because then it will reflect back on her and will look poorly on her and her father."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

"So I think that she is going to be careful with her words and try to protect her family," she continued before adding the caveat, "But, at the end of the day, something I knew very well from working with Jared [Kushner] and Ivanka in the White House was that they were always concerned with their own reputations first."

"We saw this in news stories all the time where, if Trump would enact a policy or tweet something vile out, then in the reporting it would always be, 'Oh, Jared and Ivanka disagreed though or they tried to push back,'" she elaborated. "So, they were always trying to make themselves look good in the media and I think that she is going to be very concerned with how she is coming across with her testimony and be very guarded. So that's going probably be a bigger factor than trying to protect her family."

Watch below or at the link:

Appearing on MSNBC on Sunday morning, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance suggested that Donald Trump's children, who will be testifying in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom this coming week, can expect no mercy if they are caught lying.

Speaking with host Katie Phang, Vance said Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump will have to make up their minds before they testify in New York Attorney General Letitia James $250 million financial fraud case whether they want to face the wrath of their father by testifying truthfully or if they want to end up in jail.

As Vance told the MSNBC host, "We will see all of Donald Trump's grown children testifying next week. They all have to decide, do they want to tell the truth or do they want to stay in daddy's good graces since the consequences of committing perjury are likely to be a prosecution."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

She continued, "It's very clear that New York's attorney general means business.'

"I think this could be a very interesting week ahead," she added with a smile.

Watch below or at the link.

Now that Supreme Court 1st Judicial District Judge Arthur Engoron has scheduled Donald Trump and three of his children, Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric, to testify in the $250 million fraud trial involving the Trump Organization, all eyes will turn to the Manhattan courtroom next week for what promises to be explosive testimony.

Speaking with MSNBC host Alex Witt on Saturday morning, NBC correspondent Ryan Reilly was asked by the host which one of the Trump kids has the potential to set off the most "fireworks" while being grilled.

With Ivanka Trump eliminated because she has the least to lose since a court ruled her participation in financial fraud schemes — the centerpiece of New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil suit because of the statute of limitations, Reilly was quick to finger Don Jr. as a potentially hostile witness.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

"Ryan, do you expect bombshell testimony in this last week when you have Don Jr., Eric and potentially Ivanka as well testifying?" host Witt prompted. "Look, let's face it, with some of them in the past when they've gotten on the stand, it's been a lot of 'I don't recalls.' But what do you expect this time around?"

"I think Don Jr. is most like his father and sort of gets really revved up very easily, it's not that difficult," Reilly immediately replied." It does seem to get him really heated and poke at him in the right way. I think that is the one where I expect the most explosive testimony."

"Obviously Eric Trump has been thoroughly parodied on SNL but he's known as someone who is not as heated probably as Trump Jr. has been, if you look at the titles of the books that he sells and sort of this macho personality that we see on the air," he added.

"So that is where I would expect you to get the most possibility of sort of getting heated outside of his comfort zone," he concluded.

Watch below or at the link.

It took less than 24 hours after Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Ivanka Trump to testify in the financial fraud trial swamping the Trump Organization in a Manhattan courtroom for Donald Trump to blow his top and lash out at the jurist.

On Friday, Engoron ruled that the president's oldest daughter must obey a subpoena from the state of New York and make an appearance in the $250 million financial fraud civil suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

On Saturday morning, the former president went on a wide-ranging tirade aimed at Engoron by writing: "I truly believe he is CRAZY, but certainly, at a minimum, CRAZED in his hatred of me."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

In total Trump wrote, "My daughter, Ivanka, was released from this Fake Letitia James case by the Court of Appeals, but this Trump Hating, Unhinged Judge, who ruled me guilty before this Witch Hunt Trial even started, couldn’t care less about the fact that he was overturned. I also won on Appeal on Statute of Limitations, but he refuses to accept their decision. I truly believe he is CRAZY, but certainly, at a minimum, CRAZED in his hatred of me."

When Ivanka Trump finally takes the stand in Judge Arthur Engoron's Manhattan courtroom, she will be put in the position of providing devastating testimony about financial deals which could take down the Trump Organization — and her father and her brothers with it.

And then she will be able to walk away due to an earlier court ruling removing her from the case.

On Friday, Engoron set next Friday for Donald Trump's oldest daughter to appear in court and testify in New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 financial fraud civil suit that could effectively shut down the Trump Organization as key financial negotiations she previously participated in on several real estate deals will take center stage in the trial.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

According to a report from Business Insider, Ivanka's "testimony at the non-jury trial could prove highly damaging to her father and two eldest brothers, Donald Trump, Jr., and Eric Trump – Trump Organization vice presidents who, like their father, are defendants in James' lawsuit."

Among the deals she will be compelled to discuss is her participation in using dummied-up valuations for properties to seek favorable loan terms while she served as an officer in the Trump Organization.

In AG James filing, she wrote, "Ms. Trump caused misleading financial statements to be submitted to Deutsche Bank and the federal government."

Based upon that accusation, the former president's daughter can expect to be asked about three Deutsche Bank loans that she was party to as a negotiator for the Trump Org as they sought an underwriter.

Two weeks into Donald Trump's trial in a Manhattan courtroom for financial fraud, things appear to be taking a turn for the worse for the former president who found himself unexpectedly ordered to take the stand and defend critical comments he has been making about the proceedings.

That stunning move by Judge Arthur Engoron and the $10,000 fine handed down by the judge could be a harbinger of what is to come as the former president faces multiple high-stakes criminal trials that could lead to him being incarcerated.

According to an analysis by the Guardian's Lauren Aratani, things are going to get increasingly "messy" for the former president as he tries to fend off all of his legal woes while at the same time attempting to present a strong image in the court of public opinion.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

As Aratani pointed out, the former president is fighting a multi-front war as he faces four major trials in four different jurisdictions while at the same time trying to make a third bid for the presidency.

Calling what he faces a "trial within a trial," the analyst suggested Trump's complaints that he is being persecuted may start to fall on deaf ears as more previously unknown evidence is revealed in the trials.

As Aratani wrote, "The second – unofficial – trial is being fought in the court of public opinion. The media circus arrives every time Trump appears in court he attacks the 'witch-hunt’.” His lawyers cry foul, shout at witnesses and demand the case is thrown out. The facts of the case seem almost incidental. For Trump and his lawyers, it is clear – often to the anger of the judge – that the official trial is less important to them than the political one."

Former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's two days of testimony this week in New York Attorney General Letitia James' financial fraud civil suit handed members of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's office valuable information into how to use the former Trump "fixer" when the Stormy Daniels hush money criminal trial convenes.

The ways in which Cohen handled cross-examination questions from Trump's lawyers defending the former president in the $250 million suit levied against Trump and the Trump Organization being held in Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom was closely monitored by Manhattan prosecutor Susan Hoffinger who will be taking the lead in Trump's other Manhattan trial.

According to a report from the New York Times, Hoffinger sat in the gallery and took notes on Cohen's strengths and weaknesses under questioning, thereby gaining insight into how to prep him for the trial centered on hush money payments made to adult film star Daniels made during Trump's first presidential run.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

Of concern to prosecutors is Cohen's credibility after admitting during his second day on the stand this week that he had previously lied while under oath.

With the Times noting that Cohen was the conduit Trump used to pay off the adult star, one legal expert claimed the experience of watching Cohen being grilled hands prosecutors an advantage.

Former Manhattan prosecutor Daniel J. Horwitz told the Times, "The jury might find him detestable and despicable as an individual. But they may choose to believe him because when he says, ‘I had conversations with Donald Trump about paying hush money to Stormy Daniels,’ it’s backed up by other witnesses and other pieces of evidence.”

The Times report added that this week prosecutor Colleen Faherty used the strategy of being upfront about Cohen's credibility from the outset, which will be helpful in the hush money trial that will be tried before a jury, unlike the current one before Judge Engoron.