MSNBC

The first witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial has already established a key component of the case that's necessary to convict the former president, according to a legal expert.

David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, told the jury that he sought out damaging stories about his friend ahead of the 2016 election and paid to keep them from publication, and MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin told "Morning Joe" that he had helped prosecutors demonstrate that Trump knew about the scheme and intended for it to help his campaign.

Michael Fanone, a retired Washington, D.C. police officer who suffered life-threatening injuries during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, condemned Donald Trump Friday for celebrating the rioters as he seeks a second term in office.

The cop appeared Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" to discuss the former president's claim of absolute immunity that's under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court. He blasted the arguments from Trump's attorney and questions asked by the conservative justices as infuriating.

Though the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to reject Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity, several onlookers expect it to make a move that will greatly delay Jack Smith's election interference case against the ex-president.

But a legal expert says the special counsel still has "one trick up his sleeve" to skip past any further trial delay conservative justices might grant.

Panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" wondered how Donald Trump's allies would find attorneys willing take their case after being indicted in the Arizona fake electors scheme.

Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and nine other Trump allies were indicted on multiple charges, including conspiracy and forgery to engaging in fraudulent schemes, and they recorded video of themselves signing phony documents on Dec. 14, 2020, certifying themselves as electors pledged to the former president despite his loss in the state.

Donald Trump could be held in contempt of court for attacking Michael Cohen over the damning testimony he's expected to provide, but MSNBC's Joe Scarborough laughed incredulously when the former president praised another witness who has already provided strong evidence against him.

At an early morning campaign event in Manhattan, Trump said Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker was "very nice."

MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski noticed her former friend Donald Trump seems to be wearing down already under the stress of his criminal trial.

The quadruple-indicted former president has been ordered by New York Judge Juan Merchan to attend every day of hearings, and the "Morning Joe" co-host said Trump doesn't seem like himself slumping in and out of the courtroom and dozing off occasionally during the proceedings.

Jurors have already heard two days of damning testimony against Donald Trump in his hush money trial, and a former prosecutor told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" she believes what had been considered his strongest defense could be knocked down.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker told the jury that he personally tracked down negative stories about Trump during the 2016 election campaign and paid off damaging sources to prevent them from speaking to other outlets. Politico's deputy managing editor for politics Sam Stein floated what he believed to be the greatest weakness in the case against the ex-president.

Donald Trump's lawyers tried to present the former president as a "family man" to defend him from allegations in his hush money trial involving an adult film star, and MSNBC's Claire McCaskill guffawed at the claim as preposterous.

Lawyers delivered opening statements Monday in the trial, and while prosecutors laid out their case showing that Trump allegedly conspired to pay off adult film star Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence and then falsified business records to hide the payments, the former president's attorneys insisted he'd done nothing wrong.

Donald Trump's attorney may have oversold his defense during opening statements to the jury, a legal expert argued.

Lawyer Todd Blanche told jurors that $420,000 in payments to Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen were not reimbursements for payments to adult movie actress Stormy Daniels, but were instead given to cover legal services.

Twelve jurors and six alternates have been empaneled to sit in judgment of Donald Trump in his hush-money trial, but a legal expert worries that might not be enough.

Jury selection proceeded more quickly last week than many observers expected, although one juror dropped out citing personal safety concerns and another was dismissed after prosecutors raised concerns about his credibility, and legal analyst Danny Cevallos told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that more jurors might be necessary.

CNN's Kate Bolduan fact-checked Donald Trump's Friday morning rant outside the courtroom as he returns for Day Four of his criminal trial.

The quadruple-indicted ex-president complained Friday morning about a gag order imposed on him by New York justice Juan Merchan that prohibits him from commenting publicly on witnesses and jurors in the case, and prosecutors argued that Trump has already violated that court order seven times since the start of the trial.

The U.S. House of Representatives moved one step closer to voting on a series of foreign aid bills that have been strongly opposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and other MAGA lawmakers, and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said other Republicans are growing tired of their antics.

The House Rules Committee got enough Democratic support to advance the funding bills, which includes additional aid to Ukraine, in the face of a motion to vacate against speaker Mike Johnson filed by Greene and supported by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and the "Morning Joe" host compared the dynamic to his own time as a congressman.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) unloaded on House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R-KY) over the impeachment inquiry into president Joe Biden, and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough ridiculed the Kentucky Republican's "embarrassing" response.

The Maryland Democrat took issue with GOP lawmakers suggesting the president had accepted bribes from China, and Raskin demanded that Comer hold an impeachment vote immediately if Republicans had any evidence that Biden had taken bribes or committed any other crimes – and the "Morning Joe" host offered up one of his favorite allusions about the inquiry.